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BKELEY 

JRARY 

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llFOtNIA    . 


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V     / 


PHILIP    DE    CAVEREL 

(1555-1636) 

JW;o/  0/  5/.    Vaast's,  Arras,  the  munificent  patron  of 
St.  Gregory's,  at  Douay. 


DOWNSIDE 

THE   HISTORY   OF   ST.  GREGORY'S   SCHOOL 

FROM  ITS  COMMENCEMENT  AT  DOUAY 

TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME 


BY 


DOM   HENRY  NORBERT  BIRT,  O.S.B. 

I) 

PRIEST  OF   DOWNSIDE   ABBEY.    BATH 


WITH   TWENTY-FIVE    ILLUSTRATIONS 


LONDON 
KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH,  TRUBNER  ^5"  CO.  LTD. 

PATERNOSTER   HOUSE,   CHARING  CROSS   ROAD,  W.C. 
1902 


The  rights  of  tratislation  and  of  reproductio?t  are  reserved 


Printed  by  Ballantyne,  Hanson  6^  Co. 
At  the  Ballantyne  Press 


LOAN-' STACK 

rjTFT 


T>EDICATED 

TO 

ALL   GREGORIANS 

PAST,    PRESENT,  AND   FUTURE 


333 


PREFACE 

It  is  with  considerable  diffidence  that  I  offer  for  the  accept- 
ance of  loyal  Gregorians  this  history  of  the  school  attached 
to  Downside  Abbey,  for  I  am  only  too  well  aware  of  its 
shortcomings.  A  note  of  warning,  however,  may  serve  to 
secure  indulgence  at  the  hands  of  those  who,  not  having 
experienced  the  difficulties  attending  research  where  the 
materials  are  scattered  and  scanty,  may  not  realise  the  nature 
of  the  obstacles  that  have  plentifully  beset  my  path,  nor  the 
time  that  has  had  to  be  spent  in  attaining  results  which,  after 
all,  may  possibly  be  characterised  as  inadequate.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  ten  years  ago  the  task  of  compiling  this  History 
would  have  been  impossible ;  now,  what  measure  of  success 
may  rew^ard  the  present  effort  must  be  largely  ascribed  to  the 
enthusiastic  labours  of  those  whose  collections  made  during 
the  past  decade  have  been  placed  at  my  disposal,  and  whose 
help  and  advice  guided  me  to  sources  of  information  in 
widely  separated  localities,  whence  I  have  secured  transcripts 
of  documents  which  now  go  to  increase  our  growing  collection 
of  materials.  I  refer  in  an  especial  manner  to  the  Right.  Rev. 
Abbot  Gasquet,  Abbot-President  of  the  English  congregation 
of  the  Black  Monks  of  St.  Benedict;  Dom  Gilbert  Dolan, 
O.S.B. ;  and  Mr.  Edmund  Bishop. 


PREFACE 

Criticism  of  the  results  here  puWished  may  take  other  and 
many  forms ;  but  by  a  word  of  explanation  I  hope  to  forestall 
two  objections  that  might  be  raised.  Some  might  find  grounds 
for  accusing  me  of  pedantry,  because  throughout,  but  at  least 
consistently,  I  speak  of  St.  Gregory's  as  a  school  and  not  as  a 
college^  whereas  from  the  first  till  now,  in  all  official  documents, 
it  has  been  styled  a  college.  But  for  all  that,  the  term  is  a 
misnomer.  In  technical  scholastic  language  a  college  is  one  of 
the  corporate  bodies  which  together  form  a  university  ;  and 
thus  we  rightly  speak  of  Oriel  College,  Oxford,  or  of  St.  John's 
College,  Cambridge.  Or  a  college  may  be  a  corporate  body 
existing  outside  a  university,  which  maintains  a  provost  and 
fellows.  Such  a  constitution  is  enjoyed  by  Eton,  which  is 
thus  properly  called  a  college.  But  we  speak  of  Harrow, 
Felsted,  Uppingham,  Winchester,  Sherborne,  and  Blundell's 
as  schools.  Modern  foundations,  however,  have  begun  to 
arrogate  to  themselves  the  more  sonorous  term  of  college,  and 
so  w^e  have  Marlborough,  Wellington,  and  Clifton  Colleges. 

Stonyhurst,  and  Ushaw,  and  St.  Edmund's,  Ware,  may  have 
good  reasons  for  calling  themselves  colleges.  I  would  not 
venture  to  traverse  their  use  of  the  term ;  but  I  suspect  the 
practice  merely  dates  back  to  the  days  of  exile,  and  is  but  a 
literal  translation  of  collegium  or  college ;  and  in  France  and 
other  parts  of  Continental  Europe,  college  is  used  to  include 
schools  occupied  with  rudimentary  studies,  and  receiving 
children  as  pupils.  In  our  case,  however,  as  it  has  been 
pointed  out  to  me,  the  practice  is  not  so  defensible,  for  St. 
Gregory's  Monastery  alone  might  be  likened  to  a  university 
college   (as    it    actually   was    in    Douay),    wherein    the    abbot 


PREFACE 

represents  the  provost,  and  the  monks  the  fellows  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  freehold ;  but  the  secondary  educational 
department  is  merely  attached  to  the  monastery,  and  the 
monks  happen  to  find  employment  therein ;  but  from  that 
employment  they  are  removable  on  the  mere  order  of  the 
superior.  On  advice,  therefore,  to  which  I  defer,  I  ven- 
ture throughout  the  following  pages  to  name  the  educational 
establishment  attached  to  St.  Gregory's  Monastery  a  school. 
In  the  same  spirit,  the  old-fashioned  custom  of  calling  the 
teachers  professors.,  which  in  speech,  though  not  always  in 
writing,  has  died  out  for  many  years,  has  been  abandoned  in 
favour  of  the  more  correct  form  of  masters^  thus  bringing 
ourselves  into  line  with  the  general  usage  in  England. 

The  other  point  to  which  I  would  refer  is  the  spelling  I 
have  adopted  for  the  name  of  the  town  that  harboured  St. 
Gregory's  for  nearly  two  centuries.  It  is  well  known  that  in  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  all  English  Catholics  spoke 
and  wrote  of  the  university  town  of  Doway.  At  the  present 
day,  the  modern  French  form  is  adhered  to,  and  we  write  of 
St.  Edmund's  Abbey,  Douai.  But  the  present  French  form 
has  its  objections  when  the  reference  is  wholly  to  a  period 
when  the  French  them-selves  substituted  y  for  //  and  the 
original  Anghcised  form  Doway  has  been  long  obsolete. 
In  Spanish,  the  form  was  Duay^  and  it  thus  occurs  in  large 
numbers  of  seventeenth-century  documents.  On  the  strength 
of  the  almost  universal  prevalence  of  the  use  of  Douay  for 
many  decades  before  the  abandonment  of  the  British  estab- 
lishments of  that  town  in  1793,  and  for  many  of  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  those  who  had  been 


PREFACE 

brought  up  there  invariably  used  that  form  of  spelling,  I  have 
thought  it  best  to  adopt  that  form  of  orthography  as  a  com- 
promise between  ancient  and  modern  usage,  and  for  the  sake 
of  uniformity  to  employ  it  throughout,  except  in  direct  quota- 
tions, relying  upon  the  authority  of  a  mass  of  documents  in 
the  Downside  archives. 

Some  few  weeks  ago  an  admirable  article  appeared  in  the 
Spectator^  on  what  the  writer  designated  the  "freemasonry" 
existing  amongst  schoolboys,  and  particularly  between  mem- 
bers of  the  same  school.  By  this  term  he  signalised  the 
*'  spirit  " — that  indefinable  somethiui^ — which  a  boy  seems  to 
catch  from  association  with  others  in  an  old-established 
school.  All  schools,  it  is  true,  have  much  in  common ;  all 
boys  have  very  much  the  same  ideals  and  very  much  the 
same  way  of  looking  at  the  world  as  a  whole.  But  the 
"spirit"  which  exists  in  a  particular  school — the  nameless 
link  between  its  members — is,  of  course,  more  intimate,  and, 
in  a  way,  more  precise  than  that  which  is  common  to  all. 

Tradition  is  one  of  the  main  factors — perhaps  the  main 
factor — in  the  creation  of  this  "spirit."  The  importance  of 
fostering  such  a  spirit  cannot  be  doubted.  When  members 
of  the  same  school  meet  in  after-life,  it  is  the  knowledge 
that  each  has  shared  the  experience  of  the  other,  and  takes 
the  same  pleasure  in  the  remembrance  of  the  same  tradi- 
tions, that  establishes  at  once  an  easy  basis  of  comradeship. 

To  promote  this  spirit  in  regard  to  Gregorians  has  been 
my  main  object  in  preparing  this  history  of  Downside  School. 
I  have,  therefore,  primarily  addressed  myself,  more  particularly 
in  the  last  three  chapters  of  the  book,  to  all  who  have  received 


PREFACE 

their  education  there.  It  is,  first  and  foremost,  knowledge  of 
the  past  that  cannot  fail  to  engender  pride  in  a  common  son- 
ship,  as  it  is  the  inheritance  of  a  common  tradition  that  draws 
all  Gregorians  together. 

I  have  not  hesitated  to  borrow  and  adapt  freely  from 
several  articles  in  the  Doivnside  Review  which  contributed 
in  any  way  to  the  history  of  the  school,  and  I  here  gratefully 
acknowledge  my  general  indebtedness  to  those  by  whose 
previous  labours  I  have  thus  profited. 

My  best  thanks  are  due  to  the  Right  Rev.  T.  B.  Snow, 
titular  Abbot  of  Glastonbury,  and  to  Dom  E.  C.  Butler, 
O.S.B.,  for  much  valued  help  and  advice ;  and  to  Dom 
Philip  Whiteside,  O.S.B.,  to  whose  skilful  manipulation  of 
the  camera  most  of  the  illustrations  are  due. 

H.  N.  B. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  Beginnings  and  Early  Days         ...  i 

II.  House  Chronicle  during  the  Seventeenth 

and  Eighteenth  Centuries  ...         25 

III.  Inner   Life  at  Old   St.  Gregory's  in   the 

Seventeenth     and    Eighteenth     Cen- 
turies       68 

IV.  The  Abandonment  of  Douay,   i 792-1 795     .         99 
V.  Acton  Burnell,   1795-1814  ....       123 

VI.  Downside,  1814-1830 157 

VII.  The  Development  of  St.  Gregory's  during 

the  Nineteenth  Century     .         .         .       206 

VIII.  Institutions,  Customs,  and  Games       .         .       250 

IX.  Gregorian  Worthies:  Men  who  have  helped 
to  make  St.  Gregory's;  and  Men  whom 
St.  Gregory's  has  helped  to  make         .       315 

APPENDIX 
List  of    Priors    or    Headmasters    of    St. 

Gregory's 349 

INDEX 351 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Philip  de  Caverel      .... 

Facade  of  Old  St.  Gregory's,  Doiiay     . 

Map  of  the  City  of  Dotiay,  dated  1627 

Old  St.  Gregory's,  Doiiay  (1627) 

Old  St.  Gregory's,  Doiiay  (1789) 

School  Buildings  from  the  N.E. 

In  the  Shrubberies     .... 

A  View  across  the  North  Transept 

Acton  Burnell  Hall 

School  Buildings,  shewinc^  the  "  Old  House  "  in  the  For 

The  Old  Chapel,  now  the  Museum 

General  View  of  School  Buildings 

The  1854  Quadrangle 

The  Study-Room        .... 

Downside  Abbey  and  the  Petre  Cloister 

The  Boys'  Dining-Hall      . 

The  North  Transept 

Path  leading  from  the  Playground  to  the  Bathing  Pond 

The  "Palace,'"  shewing  the  Stage 

School  Cloisters         .... 

The  Petre  Swimming  Bath 

The  Petre  Library     .... 

Cricket  Ground  and  Pavilion 

The  Ball-Place         .... 

Dom  Leander  de  Sto.  Martino    . 


Page 


•    Frontisf'iece 

II 

facing 

25 

. 

27 

facint^ 

57 

67 

facing 

68 

107 

130 

■eground 

183 

facing 

190 

facing 

206 

222 

facing 

224 

• 

232 

facing 

234 

facing 

239 

. 

241 

. 

271 

275 

facing 

278 

facing 

281 

. 

301 

305 

331 

CHAPTER   I 

BEGINNINGS   AND   EARLY  DAYS 

Preliminary    explanations  —  Commencement    of    the    school  —  The    first 
boys — The  reconstruction  of  the  school  list. 

St.  Gregory's  School — now  for  close  on  one  hundred  years 
at  Downside,  near  Bath,  previously  at  Acton  Burnell  in  Shrop- 
shire, and  at  Douay  in  Flanders — has,  during  the  three  cen- 
turies of  its  existence,  been  always  attached  to  St.  Gregory's 
Monastery.  There  is  no  need  to  give  a  full  and  minute 
account  of  the  foundation  of  the  monastery;  but  some  re- 
ference to  it  is  necessary,  to  enable  those  who  have  no 
acquaintance,  or  only  a  slight  one,  with  the  school,  to  under- 
stand terms  which  will  constantly  recur  during  the  course  of 
the  narrative;  and  which,  unless  explained,  may  mystify  if 
not  mislead  the  uninitiated. 

Elizabeth  came  to  the  throne  of  England  in  1558,  and  at 
once  threw  in  her  lot  with  that  of  the  Reformers.  As  year 
after  year  wore  on,  and  the  measures  to  stamp  out  the  Catholic 
faith  increased  in  number  and  severity,  counter-measures  be- 
came imperative  to  avert  the  total  extinction  of  the  faith. 
The  need  produced  the  man,  and  Cardinal  Allen  founded  a 
school  abroad  for  the  training  of  priests  to  fill  up  the  rapidly 
dwindling  ranks  of  the  old  clergy.  In  course  of  time,  as  the 
education  of  Catholic  children  became  more  and  more  a  matter 
of  impossibility  at  home,  other  schools  were  founded  abroad, 
with  their  scope  enlarged  so  as  to  include  lay  scholars.     The 

I  A 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

schools  in  England  were  closed  to  the  children  of  Catholics, 
and  statutes  made  it  penal  to  harbour  a  Catholic  tutor,  so  that 
if  an  educated  Catholic  laity  was  to  be  preserved  their  edu- 
cation could  only  be  obtained  abroad.  It  was  equally  penal 
for  Catholics  to  send  their  children  across  the  seas ;  but,  as 
public  and  private  records  shew,  every  danger  was  braved, 
every  expedient  adopted,  to  prevent  the  extinction  of  the  lamp 
of  faith  in  the  spes  gregts.  The  English  schools  abroad, 
therefore,  were  opened  to  lay  scholars  as  well  as  to  those  who 
had  dedicated  themselves  to  an  ecclesiastical  career. 

But  the  sons  of  St.  Benedict  had  as  yet  no  part  in  the  good 
work.  The  ancient  order  which  had  flourished  exceedingly 
in  the  olden  days  in  England  had  dwindled  down  by  the  end 
of  Elizabeth's  reign  to  two  or  three  old  and  enfeebled  repre- 
sentatives. The  only  known  survivor,  the  Venerable  Dom 
Sigebert  Buckley,  had  been  professed  at  Westminster  during 
its  short-lived  restoration  under  Queen  Mary,  and  throughout 
Elizabeth's  long  reign  had  endured  an  unremitted  martyrdom 
of  imprisonment.  As  years  rolled  by,  many  secular  priests 
yearned  for  the  old  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  which  was  entwined 
in  the  history  of  England,  and  whose  traditions  and  spirit 
were  so  racy  of  the  soil.  Several  entered  its  ranks  in  foreign 
monasteries,  and  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  number 
of  these  English  monks  was  largely  augmented  by  accessions 
of  scholars  from  different  colleges,  that  of  Valladolid  furnishing 
by  far  the  largest  contingent.  These  Englishmen,  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  foreign  superiors,  and  belonging,  by  their  pro- 
fession, to  foreign  branches  of  the  order,  felt  that  from  where 
they  themselves  had  found  security  they  could  afford  no  help- 
to  their  persecuted  countrymen  at  home.  And  yet  England 
was  their  natural  sphere  of  labour  by  every  tie  of  tradition, 
blood,  and  love ;  and  to  say  nothing  of  the  tugging  of  their 
own  heart-strings,  their  sorely-stricken  countrymen  were  be- 
seeching them,  saying,  like  the  man  of  Macedonia,  "  pass  over 


BEGINNINGS   AND   EARLY   DAYS 

and  help  us."  These  mutual  longings  resulted  in  certain 
Englishmen  professed  in  Italy  and  Spain  obtaining  leave  in 
1603  to  proceed  to  the  English  mission;  and  later,  two 
secular  priests  who  received  the  Benedictine  habit  from  them 
were  affiliated  to  the  ancient  English  congregation,  thus  secur- 
ing the  continuity.  Certain  fathers,  also,  principally  Dom 
Augustine  Bradshaw,  alias  White,  and  the  Venerable  Dom 
John  Roberts,  or  de  Mervinia,  resolved  to  found  a  monastery 
where  they  could  gather  together  their  English  brethren, 
till  then  scattered  in  various  monasteries  throughout  Spain. 
Hence  they  founded  a  community  late  in  1605,  selecting  for 
its  site  Douay,  a  university  town  much  frequented  by  English 
recusants  and  "  fugitives,"  where  Cardinal  Allen's  famous 
English  College  of  the  secular  clergy  was  already  established. 
In  spite  of  much  unworthy  misrepresentation  and  opposition, 
they  finally  overcame  all  obstacles,  and,  by  the  munificent 
charity  and  liberality  of  Dom  Philip  de  Caverel,  Abbot  of  St. 
Vaast's  at  Arras,  were  provided  with  a  monastery,  dedicated 
to  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  into  which  they  moved  in  the 
October  of  161 1.  On  the  15th  of  the  same  month  the  Chap- 
ter of  Arras,  in  which  diocese  the  city  of  Douay  was  then 
situated,  granted  a  licence  upon  the  petition  of  Dom  Brad- 
shaw, the  prior,  for  the  transfer  of  the  convent  from  its 
temporary  premises  to  the  new  buildings,  with  the  right  to 
celebrate  the  Divine  Office  publicly,  erect  altars,  ring  bells,  &c. 
Soon  after  this  first  estabhshment  in  Douay  these  English 
monks  founded  another  house  at  Dieulouard  in  Lorraine,  a 
third  at  Paris,  with  a  cell  at  Chelles,  and  later  added  yet  others 
at  Lambspring  and  Rintelin  in  Westphalia,  and  at  St.  Malo  in 
Brittany.  These  houses,  all  under  one  common  jurisdiction, 
formed  the  "  English  congregation  "  of  the  Black  Monks  of 
St.  Benedict.  Moreover,  they  constituted  the  real  continua- 
tion and  were  the  actual  representatives  of  the  ancient  Eng- 
lish congregation  consisting   of  the  abbeys  and  houses  and 

3 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

cathedral  chapters  which  covered  the  land  before  Henry 
VIII. 's  suppression  of  the  monasteries.  The  term  "con- 
gregation," as  applied  to  the  Benedictine  form  of  religious 
life,  may  be  best  explained  by  the  briefest  summary  of  the 
Right  Rev.  Abbot  Gasquet's  "Introduction"  to  the  latest 
English  edition  of  Montalembert's  Motiks  of  the    West. 

In  the  ordinary  course  of  human  affairs  great  and  wide- 
reaching  results  are  achieved  by  the  concentrated  effort  of 
a  directed  organisation ;  and  yet  on  a  review  of  the  enduring 
impress  which  Benedictines  have  made  on  the  religious  and 
social  history  of  Europe,  it  is  remarkable  that  these  results 
have  been  attained  without  definite  organisation.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  St.  Benedict  clearly  meant  that  the 
mode  of  life  he  instituted  should  exist  for  its  own  sake, 
and  by  so  doing  distinguishing  it  from  what  may  be  called 
specifically  the  religious  orders  which  have  essentially 
some  special  work  or  aim,  demanding  special  views,  special 
systems  of  training,  special  spiritual  and  scientific  methods. 
But  St.  Benedict  left  it  to  the  discretion  of  local  superiors 
to  suit  his  directive  regulations  to  local  wants,  for  it  looks 
as  if  he  foresaw  that  his  institute  was  to  spread  to 
other  lands,  and  be  under  conditions  wholly  different  from 
those  of  his  native  Italy.  This  adaptability  to  new  sur- 
roundings is  a  marked  characteristic  of  Benedictinism ;  and 
few  things  in  ecclesiastical  history  are  so  noticeable  as  the 
perpetual  renewal  of  the  Benedictine  spirit,  springing  up 
within  the  order  itself  under  various  forms.  The  genius  of 
Cardinal  Newman  has  caught  the  very  spirit  of  St.  Bene- 
dict's followers,  as  manifested  in  the  history  of  the  past, 
when  he  recognises  that  the  spirit  of  St.  Benedict's  Order 
is  "ever  one,  but  not  its  outward  circumstances.  It  is 
not  ...  in  form  one  and  the  same  everywhere  and  from 
first  to  last  .  .  .  but  it  is  an  organisation,  diverse,  complex, 
and  irregular,  and  variously  ramified,  rich  rather  than  sym- 

4 


BEGINNINGS   AND    EARLY    DAYS 

metrical,  with  many  origins  and  centres  and  new  beginnings 
and  the  action  of  local  influences,  like  some  great  natural 
growth.  .  .  .  Instead  of  progressing  on  plan  and  system, 
and  from  the  will  of  a  superior,  it  has  shot  forth  and  run 
out  as  if  spontaneously,  and  has  shaped  itself  according  to 
events,  from  an  irrepressible  fulness  of  life  within,  and  from 
the  energetic   self-action  of  its  parts.  .  .  ." 

One  of  these  manifestations  was  that  of  the  Cluniac 
system ;  that  is,  the  dependence  of  a  number  of  houses 
upon  one  central  house.  A  recoil  from  this  system  arose 
in  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century,  by  the  introduction 
of  a  certain  union  and  mutual  support  between  separate 
houses,  which  was  more  in  accordance  with  the  real  spirit 
of  St.  Benedict,  who  intended  each  house  to  be  a  separate 
unit,  based  on  the  idea  of  the  family  with  its  own  in- 
dependent head — the  father  of  the  family.  The  abbots  of 
a  number  of  monasteries,  therefore,  while  retaining  their 
independence,  arranged  spontaneously,  that  is,  not  compelled 
by  external  authority,  to  meet  together  in  chapter  for  mutual 
counsel  and  support.  In  the  fourth  Lateran  Council,  held 
under  Innocent  III.  in  12 15,  a  canon  was  promulgated 
approving  of  the  purpose  of  these  voluntary  meetings;  and 
recognising  their  good  results,  the  Pope  enjoined  that  similar 
groups  of  superiors  should  be  formed  in  every  country.  The 
English  Benedictines  at  once  adopted  and  followed  these 
provisions,  carrying  them  out  with  regularity  up  to  the  time 
of  the  suppression  of  their  houses.  But  the  English  monks 
alone  appear  immediately  to  have  taken  the  Council  seriously, 
and  thus  the  English  monasteries  were  the  first  to  form 
themselves  into  a  national  "  congregation,"  and  hence  take 
their  place,  and  are  acknowledged  to  rank  as  the  most  ancient 
of  all  the  congregations  of  which  the  Benedictine  Order  is 
to-day  composed. 

When    the  English  congregation  was  revived  in    1605  it 

5 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

derived  its  connection  and  identity  with  the  pre-Reformation 
body  through  the  only  surviving  member,  Dom  Sigebert 
Buckley,  and  it  was  re-established  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  labouring  for  the  restoration  of  its  country  to  the  unity  of 
the  faith.  The  conditions  that  faced  the  revived  congregation 
were  wholly  different  from  those  of  Catholic  times,  and  needed 
corresponding  changes,  especially  in  the  mode  of  government. 
A  brief  sketch  of  these  will  make  certain  references  in  the 
following  pages  intelligible.  A  distinctive  feature  in  the 
structure  of  the  restored  congregation  was  the  separation  of 
the  "  missioners,"  those  who  were  actually  at  work  for  the 
good  of  souls  in  England,  and  their  erection  into  corporate 
bodies  distinct  from  the  monasteries  of  their  profession  abroad, 
as  long  as  they  should  be  so  employed.  This  was  a  new 
departure  in  Benedictine  life,  and,  by  the  special  sanction  of 
the  Holy  See,  was  adopted  as  the  best  means  under  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  the  time  for  carrying  out  the  arduous 
work ;  for  it  was  realised  that  the  fathers  in  England  could 
not  be  conveniently  ruled  and  superintended  by  the  superiors 
of  their  houses  of  profession,  considering  the  distance  and  the 
extreme  difficulty  of  communication.  These  distinct  corporate 
bodies  in  England  were  called  the  Provinces  of  Canterbury 
and  York,  named  after,  and  corresponding  in  extent  with,  the 
pre-Reformation  ecclesiastical  division  of  England,  which  is 
retained  to  this  day  by  the  Established  Church.  Each  pro- 
vince was  presided  over  by  a  prelate  termed  a  "  provincial," 
whose  authority  and  jurisdiction  over  his  subjects  was  the 
same  as  that  of  an  abbot  or  prior  over  his  monastery.  Over 
the  whole  congregation,  composed  of  the  various  houses 
abroad  and  of  the  provinces,  was  the  president-general,  the 
superior  of  superiors,  who  held  the  highest  position  of  honour 
and  jurisdiction.  Another  distinctive  feature  adopted  in  the 
seventeenth  century  was  that  of  temporary  superiors  instead  of 
superiors  for  life,  so  that  all  offices  were  held  only  from  one 

6 


BEGINNINGS   AND    EARLY    DAYS 

general  chapter  to  the  next,  a  period  of  four  years,  and  each 
of  these  periods  was  known  as  a  "  quadriennium." 

These  departures  from  normal  Benedictine  lines  of  govern- 
ment were  necessary  under  special,  peculiar,  and  abnormal 
conditions. 

With  the  return  of  the  monasteries  to  England,  and  the 
introduction  of  rapid  communication,  the  existence  of  pro- 
vinces and  the  office  of  provincial  were  no  longer  either 
necessary  or  advisable,  so  that  the  Holy  See  directed  a  return 
to  pre- Reformation  ideals.  In  1891  the  provinces  were 
abolished,  and  the  missions  were  divided  between  the  existing 
houses,  whose  superiors  at  the  same  time  took  over  the  duties 
hitherto  discharged  by  the  provincials.  This  slight  sketch  of 
the  monastic  internal  economy  of  the  English  Benedictine 
congregation  will  put  the  reader  in  possession  of  all  the 
information  necessary  to  understand  the  references  in  the 
following  pages. 

As  soon  as  the  English  monks  were  solidly  established  in 
Douay,  their  reputation  for  learning  was  recognised,  and  they 
were  at  once  called  upon  to  provide  professors  of  philosophy 
for  Marchienne  College  in  that  town,  and  to  occupy  Chairs 
in  the  University.  Under  these  circumstances  also  it  is  not 
surprising  that  English  parents  naturally  desired  to  entrust 
their  sons  to  the  training  of  the  English  monks. 

The  actual  foundation  or  starting-point  of  the  school 
attached  to  St.  Gregory's  Monastery  is  unfortunately  lost  in 
obscurity ;  most  of  the  archives  of  St.  Gregory's  perished  or 
disappeared  in  the  pillage  and  confusion  of  the  French  Re- 
volution, and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  small  chance  remains  of 
recovering  the  information  they  would  have  yielded,  except 
piecemeal,  here  and  there,  from  other  sources.  The  bulk  of 
the  papers  belonging  to  St.  Gregory's  was  entrusted  to  a 
w^orthy  citizen  of  Douay  for  safe  keeping ;  but,  in  the  height 
of  the  disorders,  the  custodian,  thinking  that  the  documents 

7 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

might  compromise  him  with  the  revolutionary  authorities,  rid 
himself  of  them  by  making  a  bonfire  in  his  garden.  It  is, 
therefore,  impossible  to  assign,  as  in  the  case  of  the  great 
English  secular  college  at  Douay,  the  precise  day  or  even 
year  for  the  commencement  of  St.  Gregory's  honourable  career 
as  a  school ;  we  can  only  approximately  fix  the  date. 

And  here  we  get  help  from  a  very  unexpected  quarter.  In 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  paid  spies  and  in- 
formers of  the  English  Government,  under  pretence  of  con- 
version, obtained  admission  to  the  various  English  schools 
abroad.  After  having  learnt  whatever  they  could  about  the 
inmates — their  names,  families,  conditions,  and  destinations — 
they  returned  home,  and  either  under  plea  of  re-conversion  to 
Protestantism,  or  simply  appearing  in  their  true  colours,  they 
gave  such  information  as  they  chose.  Lewis  Owen,  one  of 
these  contemptible  though  dangerous  rascals,  published  an 
account  of  what  he  claimed  to  have  picked  up  in  this  fashion. 
He  entitled  his  book,  "  The  Runnmg  Register :  recording  a 
True  Relation  of  the  English  Colledges,  Seminaries^  and 
Cloisters  in  all  Forain  Parts.  Together  with  a  Briefe  and 
Compendious  Discourse  of  the  Lives,  Practices,  Coozenages, 
Pnpostures,  and  Deceits  of  all  our  English  Monks,  Friers, 
Jesuits,  and  Seminarie  Priests  in  generall.  By  Lewis  Owen. 
1626." 

Such  a  source  of  information,  vitiated  by  all  manner  of  lies, 
must  be  looked  upon  with  considerable  suspicion  and  distrust ; 
and,  indeed,  most  of  Lewis  Owen's  lucubrations  impugn  their 
own  veracity.  In  dealing  with  St.  Gregory's,  however,  Lewis 
Owen  may  be  to  a  certain  degree  trusted,  for  he  was  the 
brother-in-law  of  one  of  our  founders,  having  married  Blanche, 
the  sister  of  the  Venerable  Dom  John  Roberts,  and  when 
writing  of  Fr.  Roberts  and  his  doings,  he  betrays  a  certain 
pride  in  recounting  matters  connected  with  his  relative's 
career,   and    consequently   treats   St.  Gregory's  with  an    un- 


BEGINNINGS   AND    EARLY   DAYS 

wonted  degree  of  tenderness :  in  his  allusions  to  its  history 
there  is  on  the  whole  a  marked  abstention  from  the  abuse 
which  he  so  freely  flung  upon  others,  notably  upon  those  who 
offered  opposition  to  his  brother-in-law. 

Writing  in  or  before  1626,  Lewis  Owen  informs  his  readers 
in  the  pages  of  the  Running  Register  that  St.  Gregory's 
community  "  have  many  scholars  which  are  beneficial  unto 
them,  and  many  gentlemen's  sons  (which  are  their  friends  and 
benefactors  in  England)  do  diet  in  the  cloisters,  but  not  in 
the  same  part  where  the  monks  live,  but  in  the  other  side  of 
the  cloister."  He  further  states  that  "  they  receive  every  year 
ten  or  twelve  young  students  into  their  order,  and  send  as 
many  monks,  when  they  are  made  priests,  into  England."  It 
will  be  perceived  that  Owen  does  not  state  whether  all 
these  boys  were  intending  to  be  monks,  or  how  many  of  them 
were  lay  scholars.  In  the  former  supposition  ten  or  twelve 
would  be  too  high  a  number ;  but  if  he  referred  only  to  the 
lay  school,  it  was  probably  near  the  mark.  But  working 
backwards  from  Owen's  statement,  we  may  appeal  to  other 
evidence. 

In  the  year  1625  questions  arose  between  the  community 
of  St.  Gregory's  and  Abbot  Caverel  concerning  contemplated 
additions  and  improvements  to  the  property  and  buildings; 
and  the  prior,  Dom  Leander  de  Sto.  Martino  (Jones)  re- 
fers to  the  cellulae  (small  rooms)  "  for  our  young  English 
boarders." 

Father  Rudesind  Barlow,  the  president-general  of  the 
English  Benedictines,  makes  an  interesting  reference  to  the 
school  in  a  letter  written  in  Spanish  not  earlier  than  August 
8,  1624,  to  the  general  of  the  Spanish  congregation  of 
Valladolid.  The  original  is  here  rendered  in  English  :  "  The 
Lord  Abbot  of  St.  Vedast  at  Arras  gives  us  yearly  a  pension 
of  8000  reals,  and  the  novices,  who  are  all  sons  of  knights  or 
gentlemen,  bring  with  them  enough  for  their  support,  but  in 

9 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

many  cases  their  parents  in  England  lose  all  their  possessions 
on  account  of  being  Catholics,  and  then  we  suffer  here. 
The  said  abbot  also  gives  us  free  use  of  a  new  house, 
wherein  is  room  for  fifty  monks  and  as  many  youths  of 
good  family  {gentilhombres  maiorasgos),  who  come  to  learn 
Latin,  singing,  and  music,  and  then  return  to  their  own 
country."  In  another  part  of  the  same  letter  Fr.  Barlow 
gives  a  glimpse  of  the  dangers  and  difficulties  that  sur- 
rounded the  sending  of  English  children  abroad  for  their  edu- 
cation. Describing  the  persecution  then  raging  in  England, 
he  states  that  "  lately,"  as  one  of  the  fathers  (unfortunately 
not  named)  was  going  over  with  four  youths  for  St.  Gregory's 
and  as  many  young  ladies  for  Cambray,  the  whole  party  was 
captured,  and  all  of  them  were  put  in  gaol  for  a  considerable 
time  until  they  paid  a  fine  of  6000  reals  to  obtain  their 
freedom. 

In  an  inventory  drawn  up  for  the  inspection  of  the  president- 
general,  in  October  1622,  mention  is  made  of  a  "Schollers* 
Refectorie,"  distinct  from  that  used  by  the  monks,  containing 
"  two  longe  tables ;  one  short  one ;  one  cubbord ;  twentifore 
cups ;  thirtie  spones  ;  five  salt  sellers  ;  a  lamp ;  three  formes ; 
four  trenchers  to  set  pots  on."  That  the  "  schollers  "  were  lay 
students  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  in  other  inventories  their 
refectory  is  called  "the  secular  refectory"  and  "the  secular 
students'  refectory,"  and  in  the  acts  of  the  English  Benedictine 
Chapter,  in  1641,  they  are  spoken  of  as  nobiles  comme?isaks. 

On  the  20th  of  October  1619,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
solemn  acceptance  of  Abbot  Caverel's  foundation  for  St. 
Gregory's,  Fr.  Leander  Jones,  then  president-general  of  the 
English  Benedictines,  made  the  following  statement:  "Nor 
in  truth  have  you,  most  beloved  patron  and  most  religious 
fathers,  extended  your  benefits  to  those  of  your  own  age  only, 
but  you  have  assisted  our  poverty  by  a  large  annual  revenue 
for  all  future  time  for  ever.     Aided  and  supported   by  this 


BEGINNINGS   AND    EARLY   DAYS 


great  help,  we  maintain,  in  the  magnificent  buildings  of  your 
college  at  Douay,  a  community  of  four-and-twenty  monks  and 
some  forty  countrymen,  exiles  for  the  Catholic  faith  .  .  .  and 
with  overflowing  liberality  [you]  have  hitherto  supported,  and 
do  still  support  in  your  house  a  hundred  of  God's  servants 
disinherited  and  exiled  from  their  own  nation."  If  we  put 
aside  the  twenty- four 
monks,  there  remain 
seventy-five  or  seventy- 
six  of  whom  we  should 
wish  to  learn  very  pre- 
cise and  minute  details. 
One  thing,  however,  is 
clear :  that  with  the 
monks  there  dwelt 
within  the  walls  of  St. 
Gregory's  forty  "  coun- 
trymen, exiles  for  the 
faith."  These  without 
doubt  were  convictores, 
scholars  living  under 
the  same  roof;  and 
the  floating  balance  of 
thirty  -  six  represents 
servants  or  poverty- 
stricken  pensioners — 
Englishmen    who    had 

lost  their  all  for  conscience'   sake  when    they  forsook   their 
native  land. 

About  this  same  period  also  we  find  another  reference  to 
the  school  at  St.  Gregory's;  for  on  July  9,  16 18,  Fr.  Leander 
Jones,  writing  to  their  patron.  Abbot  Caverel,  says:  "  Necessity 
compels  us  to  have  as  boarders  with  us  some  English  youths 
committed  to  our  care,   whom  their  parents   confide  to  us 


FACADE   OF   OLD   ST:   GREGORY  S,  DOUAY 
{From  a  jiiodel  made  before  its  demolition) 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

solely  for  the  purpose  of  being  brought  up  in  good  manners 
and  learning." 

Earlier  still,  in  the  September  of  1614,  a  letter  was  drawn 
up  by  the  monks  of  Douay  for  transmission  to  the  president 
of  the  Valladolid  congregation  of  Benedictines.  This  prelate 
was  accepted  as  the  "general"  of  the  Anglo-Spanish  monks 
in  consideration  of  the  large-minded  liberality  shewn  by  the 
superiors  of  the  sister  Spanish  congregation  in  the  share  they 
took  in  the  re-establishment  of  the  ancient  English  congre- 
gation. Those  who  signed  this  document  appended  to  their 
names  the  offices  which  they  then  held  ;  and,  amongst  the  rest, 
Fr.  Thomas  Green  described  himself  as  "  Collegii  Gregoriani 
Hegens,  et  S.  Theologiae  Licetitiatus.^^  It  may  be  of  interest  to 
mention  that  this  degree  of  "  Licentiate  "  had  been  obtained 
at  Pont-k-Mousson  University,  and  the  original  certificate  of 
its  bestowal,  or  rather,  of  the  conferring  of  the  "  Baccalaureate," 
is  extant  amongst  the  Silos  MSS.  In  several  documents  of 
the  period  Fr.  Thomas  Green  styles  himself  in  this  fashion, 
"  Rector  of  the  College,"  and  his  post  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  the  rectorship  of  Marchienne  College,  held  both  before, 
during,  and  after  tiie  same  time  by  Fr.  John  Barnes. 

From  the  instances  here  adduced,  it  is  clear  that  by  1625 
a  school  was  well  established  at  St.  Gregory's.  It  is  an 
ascertained  fact  that  no  sooner  had  other  Catholic  schools 
been  opened  abroad,  whether  the  secular  college  at  Douay 
or  the  Jesuit  colleges  at  St.  Omers  or  Valladolid,  than  numbers 
flocked  to  their  doors,  and  taxed  to  its  fullest  capacity  the 
accommodation  they  provided.  St.  Gregory's  School  came 
into  the  field  after  the  most  pressing  and  urgent  demands 
had  been  met,  and  therefore  could  not  be  expected  to  fill 
up  so  rapidly.  Hence,  if  it  could  muster  thirty-six  or  forty 
students  within  its  walls  by  1625,  it  must  have  enjoyed  a 
vigorous  existence  for  some  time  before  that  date.  Although 
its   size  might   appear  insignificant  if  measured  by  modern 


BEGINNINGS   AND   EARLY   DAYS 

standards,  or  even  by  its  contemporary  rivals,  yet,  taking 
all  things  into  account,  it  would  be  reckoned  a  no  mean 
establishment  for  the  period,  and  one  which  must  have 
taken  some  years  to  work  up  to  the  pitch  of  prosperity  it 
had  then  attained. 

Amongst  our  archives  is  preserved  a  book  known  as  the 
Liber  Graduum.  In  this  volume  are  registered  the  dates  of 
the  taking  of  the  habit,  the  profession,  and  other  events  in  the 
careers  of  the  monks  of  St.  Gregory's.  The  entries  in  the 
earlier  years  are  merely  copies,  but  duly-attested  copies,  from  a 
yet  older  book,  or  possibly  from  loose  sheets.  Every  page  so 
copied  is  separately  certified  to  be  an  exact  transcript  of  the 
original.  Among  the  earliest  entries  may  be  read  the  follow- 
ing :  "  R.  F.  Paulinus  Greenwood  de  Brentwood  Essexiae. 
Suscepit  habitum  sub  R.  P.  Augustino  de  S.  Joanne  circa 
mensem  Decembris,  anno  1611  :  professionem  primus  emisit 
in  hac  domo  Sti.  Gregorii,  &c.,  &c.  Unus  ex  alumnis 
ordinariis  hujus  domus."  Thus,  Fr.  Paulinus  Greenwood, 
who  was  the  first  to  receive  the  Benedictine  habit  and  to 
make  his  monastic  profession  in  the  new  buildings,  is  here 
definitely  stated  to  have  been  "  one  of  the  ordinary  students  " 
of  the  house.  To  have  received  the  habit  at  the  end  of  the 
year  161 1,  he  must  have  been  at  Douay  for  at  least  one,  and 
more  probably  two  or  three  years,  so  that  we  get  with  some 
certainty  to  the  year  1608  as  the  date  of.  the  beginning  of 
St.  Gregory's  School. 

We  shall  now  endeavour  to  ascertain  who  were  the  boys 
entrusted  to  the  care  of  the  monks.  The  lists  are  lost,  and 
any  result  can  only  be  obtained  by  a  minute  process  of 
investigation.  For  some  kind  of  rough  reconstruction  we 
have,  after  1666,  account  books  which  yield  about  700 
names :  but  from  many  indications,  it  is  clear  that  the  roll 
so  obtained  is  not  exhaustive.  The  "  sodality  book,"  of  which 
more  presently,  supplements,  but  does  not  complete  this  list. 

13 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

For  the  earlier  period  only  vague  ideas  can  be  formed,  leading 
to  merely  tentative  results  and  surmises.  At  least  two  early 
names  have  survived.  In  1633  Dom  Augustine  Baker,  a 
saintly  religious  affiliated  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Lawrence, 
but  never  in  residence  there,  was  summoned  to  Douay  from 
his  post  of  confessor  to  the  Benedictine  nuns  at  Cambray, 
which  he  had  filled  for  nine  years,  to  become  a  conventual 
at  St.  Gregory's.  Dom  Cressy,  in  his  Life  of  Fr.  Baker ^ 
records  that  two  boys  derived  much  benefit  from  Fr.  Baker's 
guidance.  I'heir  names  were  Francis  Gascoigne  and  Joseph 
Errington. 

At  that  period  only  two  schools  in  Flanders  were  available 
for  the  sons  of  English  Catholics  :  Cardinal  Allen's  founda- 
tion in  Douay,  and  the  college  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  at 
St.  Omers.  The  school  lists  of  these  two  establishments 
fortunately  exist.  The  names  of  known  Catholics  and  family 
names  which  do  not  occur  on  the  matriculae  of  these  two 
schools,  or  on  those  of  Rome,  Valladolid,  or  Seville,  will 
furnish  some  clue  to  the  identification  of  our  students,  more 
especially  if  such  names  or  families  can  be  recognised  as 
"  affecting "  the  Black  Monks  of  St.  Benedict,  or  as  those 
whose  sons  joined  that  order.  The  results,  at  least  up  to 
1666,  can  be  but  tentative,  and  liable  to  future  correction  by 
addition  or  subtraction.  By  the  process  here  indicated  and 
outlined,  a  starting  point  will  have  been  found,  from  which 
further  successful  researches  may  be  made.  The  apparatus 
has  yet,  in  a  large  measure,  to  be  created,  and  until  this  has 
been  done,  the  construction  of  a  catalogue  of  Alumni  Duaceno- 
Gregoriani  must  remain  in  abeyance. 

We  may  fairly  surmise  that  many  of  those  who  became 
English  Benedictines,  and  especially  those  professed  for 
St.  Gregory's,  and  whose  names  are  absent  from  other 
school  lists,  or  whose  place  of  education  cannot  otherwise 
be   identified,    were   boys   who   received   a  vocation   to   the 

14 


BEGINNINGS   AND    EARLY    DAYS 

Benedictine  life  while  under  the  care  and  training  of  the 
monks  of  St.  Gregory's.  Little  distinction  need  be  made 
between  monks  of  St.  Gregory's  and  those  professed  for 
other  houses  of  the  congregation  up  to  about  1680,  for  it  is 
known  that  for  some  time  St.  Gregory's  supplied  its  sister 
houses  with  vocations.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  whether 
the  selection  of  a  house  of  profession  was  a  matter  of  choice 
only,  or  whether  in  the  earlier  days  certain  boys  were  not 
educated  at  Douay  for  one  of  the  other  houses.  Take  the 
case  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Lawrence  at  Dieulouard,  in  Lor- 
raine. St.  Gregory's,  immediately  after  its  foundation,  met 
with  violent  opposition  :  influence  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  archdukes,  the  nuncio,  and  even  the  Pope,  for  its  suppres- 
sion or  expulsion  ;  the  position  of  the  monks  was  rendered 
intolerable,  so  as  to  provoke  voluntary  departure  or  forcible 
ejectment.  These  machinations  were  so  nearly  successful, 
and  so  hopeless  did  the  position  of  the  monks  at  one  time 
appear,  that  Fr.  Bradshaw,  then  superior,  felt  constrained  to 
look  out  for  some  other  spot  to  which  the  community  might 
retire,  and  be  permitted  by  their  implacable  opponents  to 
follow  their  vocation  unmolested.  In  these  straits  he  heard 
of  the  possibility  of  obtaining  as  a  gift  the  old  church  of 
St.  Lawrence,  at  Dieulouard,  in  Lorraine.  He  lost  no  time 
in  making  application  for  it,  and  with  such  success  that  by  the 
end  of  1606  the  necessary  legal  formalities  had  all  been  com- 
pleted, and  the  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  monks 
of  Douay.  Here,  through  Fr.  Bradshaw's  foresight  and 
determination,  they  felt  that  they  had  a  place  of  refuge  in 
case  they  should  be,  after  all,  turned  out  of  Douay,  for  at 
Dieulouard  they  would  come  under  the  patronage  and  protec- 
tion of  Charles  of  Lorraine,  Archbishop  of  Nancy,  who  shewed 
himself  to  be  friendly  towards  them.  No  further  steps,  how- 
ever, were  taken  at  the  time  to  make  a  start  at  Dieulouard,  for 
the  monks  had  no  intention  of  abandoning  their  house  at 

15 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

Douay  unless  actually  forced  to  do  so,  and  meanwhile  con- 
tested for  their  right  to  stay.  The  dispute,  which  had  gone 
for  arbitration  to  Rome,  took  long  in  settlement ;  and  the 
delay  made  the  monks  fear  that  after  all  they  might  have  to 
leave  Douay,  so  they  determined  to  make  a  beginning  at 
Dieulouard,  and  commenced  conventual  life  there  on  August 
9,  1608.  In  the  December  of  the  same  year  the  establish- 
ment of  Douay  was  confirmed  by  Papal  decree,  renewed  in 
the  April  of  1609.  The  strength,  vigour,  and  earnestness  of 
the  reviving  congregation  was  found  equal  to  the  task  of 
continuing  the  new  foundation  at  Dieulouard,  and  the  opposi- 
tion thus  defeated  its  own  ends ;  for  in  place  of  extinction  it 
brought  expansion.  The  development  of  this  sister  house  is 
no  part  of  the  history  of  St.  Gregory's  ;  St.  Lawrence's  struck 
its  roots  deep  in  a  congenial  soil,  and  pursued  its  course  with 
varying  fortune  till  the  French  Revolution  drove  away  the 
community,  which,  after  many  vicissitudes,  became  finally 
settled  at  Ampleforth,  in  Yorkshire,  where  it  has  fructified 
and  flourishes.  Until  a  few  years  before  its  ejection  from 
Dieulouard,  St.  Lawrence's  had  no  school  in  the  ordinary 
acceptance  of  the  term.  The  summaries  of  the  condition  of 
St.  Lawrence's,  drawn  up  for  the  information  of  the  president 
and  the  general  chapter,  are  still  in  existence  :  they  commence 
about  1632,  and  continue  almost  unbroken  to  1784.  The 
highest  number  of  scholars  recorded  in  these  interesting 
returns  was  reached  in  1780,  when  eleven  were  in  residence: 
the  general  average  does  not  exceed  two  or  three.  To  assign 
any  unclaimed  schoolboys  of  the  seventeenth  century  to 
St.  Lawrence's  is,  therefore,  practically  out  of  the  question ; 
and  the  same  conclusion  applies  to  St.  Edmund's  house  in 
Paris.  Hence,  we  may  assume,  as  a  working  hypothesis,  that 
when  the  names  of  monks  at  St.  Lawrence's  or  at  St.  Ed- 
mund's are  the  same  as  those  of  monks  who  belonged  to  St. 
Gregory's,  they  may  have  been  educated  at  the  last-named 

16 


BEGINNINGS   AND    EARLY   DAYS 

place  with  their  relatives.  This  supposition  becomes  still 
more  probable  when  the  choice  of  the  religious  name  indi- 
cates a  link  of  affection  and  kindly  recollection,  as  in  the 
cases  of  Gregory  Hesketh  and  Gregory  Helme.  A  docu- 
ment of  a  somewhat  later  period  still  further  strengthens  these 
surmises,  and  brings  out  an  interesting  and  important  fact. 
A  sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  erected  at  St.  Gregory's 
in  1678.  The  matriculaj  or  book  of  enrolment,  of  the  sodality 
fortunately  remains,  and  preserves  to  us  the  names,  with  the 
actual  date  of  admission  of  each  sodalist,  from  1695  to  about 
1828.  Several  are  registered  who  were  admitted  before  1695, 
but  without  the  exact  date  of  entry  ;  these  details  may  possibly 
have  been  in  an  earlier  book  now  lost.  The  total  number  of 
entries  is  553  ;  and  by  a  careful  collation  of  the  names  con- 
tained therein  with  those  in  the  necrology,  or  death-roll,  of 
the  EngUsh  Benedictine  congregation,  the  following  important 
results  are  obtained.  At  the  time  of  their  enrolment  nine  of 
the  sodalists  were  already  either  priests  or  lay  brothers,  while 
103  who  afterwards  became  monks,  were  boys  in  St.  Gregory's 
School  at  the  time  of  their  admission  to  the  sodality.  This 
gives  a  total  of  112,  or  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  school  as 
constituting  the  ecclesiastical  element,  leaving  more  than 
four-fifths  for  a  purely  lay  element.  Moreover,  this  fifth  over- 
estimates the  distinctly  ecclesiastical  element,  for  it  comprises 
those  who  may  have  gone  through  their  school  course  with  no 
intention  of  entering  the  ecclesiastical  or  monastic  state,  and 
yet  in  the  end  did  so.  In  other  words,  St.  Gregory's  was 
primarily  a  lay  school ;  and  this  point  must  be  borne  in  mind 
throughout. 

Further  inferences  can  be  drawn  from  the  sodality  book, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  examples,  selected  more 
or  less  at  random.  The  book  furnishes  the  names  of  two 
Hadleys,  brothers — Joseph,  professed  at  St.  Gregory's,  and 
Edward,  a  layman  —  but  it  does  not  contain  the  name  of 

17  B 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

another  brother,  John,  who  was  also  professed  for  St 
Gregory's,  and  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  he 
too  had  been  a  Gregorian  student  before  putting  on  the 
cowl  of  St.  Benedict. 

Dom  William  Cuthbert  Hutton  (or  Salvin)  became  a  sodalist, 
and  later,  in  1685,  joined  the  community;  he  died  in  1702. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  suppose  that  two  nephews,  both  pro- 
fessed for  Lambspring — namely,  Dom  William  Bede,  in  1713, 
and  Dom  Thomas  Placid,  in  17 14 — had,  like  their  uncle,  been 
at  St.  Gregory's  for  their  education.  This  surmise  is  strength- 
ened by  the  presence  of  other  members  of  the  same  family  in 
the  school  at  a  still  later  date,  pointing  to  a  connection  during 
a  long  term  of  years  of  this  influential  Durham  family  with 
St.  Gregory's. 

We  have  no  particulars  of  the  previous  career  of  Joseph 
Starkey  (or  Hanmer),  professed  at  Douay  in  1703;  but  it 
seems  almost  certain  that  he  was  the  younger  brother  of 
James  Hanmer,  who  was  admitted  into  the  sodality  ante 
1695,  and  hence,  like  his  brother,  would  have  been  a  boy 
in  the  school. 

The  sodality  lists  contain  the  names  of  two  Lacons — 
Richard,  admitted  in  1753,  ^"<i  "  ^-i"  ^"  ^7^^ — of  the  family 
of  Linley,  in  Shropshire,  a  younger  branch  of  the  Lacons  of 
Kinlet,  in  the  same  county.  The  name  of  Rowland  Lacon, 
professed  at  Douay  in  1761,  and  born  at  Linley  in  1744,15 
not  on  the  sodality  lists,  yet,  without  much  cavil,  he  may  be 
reckoned  as  having  been  a  boy  in  the  school.  Mr.  Orlebar 
Payne,  in  his  Records  of  English  Catholics  in  1 7 1 5,  mentions 
the  will  of  a  Richard  Lacon,  of  Linley,  proved  in  1752, 
appointing  his  brother  Rowland  as  executor.  These  two, 
belonging  to  an  earlier  generation,  were  also  possibly  Gre- 
gorians.  The  family  name  of  Rowland  gives  a  clue  to  what 
the  above  "  R."  stands  for. 

Dom  Abraham  Maurus  Coupe,  professed  for  St.  Edmund's 

18 


BEGINNINGS   AND    EARLY    DAYS 

in  1 73 1,  was  a  Gregorian,  and  admitted  into  the  sodality  in 
1729.  These  facts  suggest  a  similar  training  in  the  case  of  a 
near  relative,  Dom  Thomas  Jerome  Coupe,  professed  for  St. 
Lawrence's  in  1775.  ^^  ^^^o,  since  John  Wyburne  was  a 
Gregorian,  his  brother  Henry,  the  last  of  his  race,  although 
professed  for  the  Paris  house,  would,  it  is  not  unhkely,  be  a 
Douay  boy,  though  his  name  does  not  appear  on  the  sodality 
roll. 

Dom  William  Henry  Dunstan  Webb,  born  in  1764,  and 
professed  at  Lambspring  in  1784,  was  probably  a  cousin,  or 
even  brother,  of  Joseph  Webb,  who  became  a  sodalist  in  1776 ; 
and,  Hke  his  relative,  might  have  been  one  of  the  boys  in  St. 
Gregory's  School. 

Dom  James  Higginson,  professed  at  Douay  in  1785,  whose 
name  does  not  occur  amongst  those  that  have  come  down 
to  us,  was  probably  in  the  school,  for  he  was  the  younger 
brother  of  John  Higginson,  whose  admission  into  the  sodality 
took  place  on  September  8,  1775. 

Four  members  of  the  family  of  Bruning  became  monks 
of  St.  Benedict.  Of  these,  only  Charles  appears  on  the 
Gregorian  sodality  lists,  and  was  admitted  ante  1695;  he 
was  professed  at  and  for  St.  Edmund's,  Paris,  in  1688,  and 
died  the  next  year.  His  brother  Thomas,  also  a  monk  of 
the  Paris  house,  would  probably  have  been  at  school  at 
Douay.  The  same  may  be  surmised  of  Richard  (Placid) 
and  Francis,  the  former  a  monk  at  Paris,  and  the  latter  at 
Lambspring — none  of  whom  appear  on  the  sodality  roll. 

The  names  that  have  been  mentioned,  covering  a  long 
series  of  years,  and  belonging  to  a  period  which  has  so  far 
furnished  about  700,  prove  conclusively  that  the  roll  of 
Gregorian  students  is  still  far  from  complete.  The  sodality 
was  never  meant  to  include  the  whole  number  of  the  boys, 
for  its  purpose  made  it  very  select,  and  only  a  few  of  the 
elder  boys  found  admittance  within  its  ranks.     If,  then,  gaps 

19 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

exist  in  the  knowledge  conveyed  by  the  sodality  book,  we 
must  the  more  surely  expect  to  meet  with  difificulties,  uncer- 
tainties, and  checks,  or  even  blanks,  when  dealing  with  a 
period  anterior  to  its  pages. 

Two  or  three  points  may  be  noticed  in  the  family  relations 
of  the  earliest  boys  of  St.  Gregory's  School.  In  the  first 
place,  certain  tracts  in  England  would  be  found,  from  one 
cause  or  another,  to  be  specially  "  Benedictine "  in  their 
sympathies  and  tendencies  ;  hence  relays  of  boys  were  drawn, 
and  the  community  largely  recruited,  from  those  particular 
districts.  Secondly,  inter-marriages  and  the  relationships  and 
cross-relationships  between  Gregorians  will  be  found  to  be  a 
great  help  in  throwing  light  upon  the  obscurities  surrounding 
our  school  lists.  Thirdly,  verifiable  facts  like  those  just  re- 
ferred to  may  possibly  serve  to  identify  as  Gregorians  many 
members  of  these  ancient  and  staunch  Catholic  families  wha 
hitherto  have  not  appeared  in  any  extant  list  of  our  or  other 
schools. 

The  following  examples  taken  almost  at  random  illustrate 
the  truth  of  the  foregoing  remarks.  If  they  prove  somewhat 
difficult  to  follow,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  following 
paragraphs  are  not  offered  as  a  genealogical  study,  but  only 
as  an  endeavour  to  make  those  who  are  interested  in  the 
history  of  St.  Gregory's  acquainted  with  the  influence  that 
family  considerations  exercised  in  determining  the  parents  of 
many  Gregorians  of  the  past  in  their  selection  of  a  school  for 
their  sons. 

The  sodality  lists  enrol  Thomas  Thornton  in  1725,  and 
Nicholas,  his  brother,  in  1726.  These  two  boys  were,  as 
far  as  can  be  ascertained,  sons  of  Nicholas  Thornton,  of 
Nether  Witton,  Esq.,  who  married  Anne,  daughter  of  Sir 
John  Swinburne,  Bart.,  of  Capheaton.  Her  brother,  William 
Swinburne,  had  gone  to  St.  Gregory's  in  1681,  and  later,, 
married  the  sister  of  two  Gregorians,  Thomas  and  Edward 


BEGINNINGS   AND   EARLY   DAYS 

Englefield.  Of  these  two  boys,  Thomas  had  a  daughter, 
Catherine,  who  in  1758  married  William  Salvin,  of  Croxdale, 
Esq.  Now  a  William  Salvin,  probably  his  father,  entered  St. 
Gregory's  in  1681.  Our  lists  also  include  Roland  and  James 
Thornton,  but  their  relationship  to  those  above-named  is 
indeterminate.  James  Thornton  married  Elizabeth  Meynell, 
who  was  sister  to  Roger  and  George  Meynell,  both  Gregorians. 
Another  sister,  Mary,  was  the  first  wife  of  Thomas  Selby,  of 
Biddlestone,  Esq.,  whose  five  sons  by  his  second  wife  were 
all  at  St,  Gregory's — namely,  Thomas,  Nicholas,  Charles,  John, 
and  Robert.  The  mother  of  these  boys,  Eleanor  Tuite,  was 
herself  related  to  Gregorians.  Mr,  Selby's  sister  also  married 
a  Gregorian — the  Roger  Meynell  mentioned  just  above.  A 
George  Selby  had  entered  the  school  about  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember 1675,  for  whom  the  account-books  shew  the  payment 
of  a  pension  of  200  florins  yearly,  during  1676-77, 

Another  group,  furnishing  a  perfect  maze  of  relationships 
amongst  themselves  and  with  St.  Gregory's,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  great  north  country  family  of  Lawson  of  Brough,  Yorks. 
The  sodality  book  mentions  only  two  Lawsons — Thomas, 
admitted  in  1775,  and  Henry,  in  1778 — who  both  became 
monks  at  St.  Gregory's.  The  latter  declined  the  priorship  of 
his  house,  and  the  former  filled  that  onerous  post  for  four 
years ;  both  lived  far  enough  into  the  nineteenth  century  for 
the  oldest  living  Gregorians  to  have  seen  and  spoken  with 
them.  But  the  connection  of  the  family  with  St.  Gregory's 
dates  from  a  much  earlier  period.  On  May  31,  1681,  a 
William  Lawson  entered  the  school ;  and  earlier  still,  in  1666, 
there  were  three  brothers,  Henry,  Charles,  and  John  Lawson, 
already  in  the  school,  and  these  were  joined  by  a  fourth, 
William — not  to  be  confounded  with  his  namesake  of  a  de- 
cade later,  who  was  professed  for  Lambspring.  These  were 
all  sons  of  Sir  John  Lawson,  first  baronet,  and  Catherine,  third 
daughter  of  Sir  William  Howard,  Knight,  and  grand-daughter 

21 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

of  Sir  Philip  Howard,  of  Naworth,  first  son  of  "  Belted  Will." 
Sir  John,  the  first  baronet,  was  only  a  third  son,  his  eldest 
brother  dying  unmarried;  the  second  brother,  Henry,  married 
Catherine,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Fenwick,  of  Meldon, 
Knight  (indicating  relationship  to  other  Gregorian  monks), 
whose  daughter  married  the  Sir  John  Swinburne  of  Cap- 
heaton  already  noticed.  A  younger  brother  of  Sir  John 
Lawson's,  named  Francis,  made  his  profession  at  and  for  St. 
Gregory's  in  1650,  and  died  at  Middleton  Lodge,  Yorks,  in 
17 12.  It  may  be  readily  supposed  that  many  of  those  here 
mentioned  had  been  at  St.  Gregory's  in  its  earlier  days ;  but 
what  is  at  present  a  strong  probability  cannot  be  established 
as  a  fact. 

Take,  again,  the  family  of  the  Middletons  of  Stock  eld. 
Stockeld  Park  was  served  by  the  Benedictine  Fathers  for  an 
unbroken  series  of  years  from  1650  (and  perhaps  earlier)  to 
1 793.  It  would  be  only  natural,  therefore,  that  these  successive 
chaplains,  who  doubtless  in  previous  years  had  taken  part  in 
the  early  training  of  the  sons  of  the  family,  would  recommend 
their  patrons  to  commit  their  boys  to  the  care  of  the  monks 
at  Douay,  and  thus  secure  for  them  a  continuation  of  the 
education  they  had  themselves  hitherto  imparted. 

In  the  beginning  of  May,  1666,  two  Middletons  were  al- 
ready in  the  school;  and  in  July,  1671,  they  were  joined  by  a 
third,  William.  The  two  former,  whose  Christian  names  do  not 
transpire,  were  preceded  by  two  others  of  the  same  family. 
Thomas  (Dom  Cuthbert),  who  was  professed  for  St.  Gregory's 
in  1643,  and  no  doubt  had  been  previously  in  the  school; 
for  though  the  lists  of  St.  Omers  give  a  Thomas  Middleton 
for  the  first  time  in  1640,  he  would  have  been  too  young  to 
have  finished  a  novitiate  by  1643.  The  other,  Michael 
Middleton,  was  a  conventual  at  St.  Gregory's  in  1646.  Of 
his  profession  or  death  no  record  remains,  but  he  was  an 
elder  brother  of  the  preceding  Thomas,  both  being  sons  of 

22 


BEGINNINGS   AND    EARLY   DAYS 

Sir  Peter  Middleton,  of  Stockeld,  who  died  in  1645,  having 
married  Mary,  daughter  and  co-heiress  of  David  Ingleby,  of 
Ripley,  Yorks.  Dugdale,  from  whom  these  particulars  are 
taken,  puts  down  these  two  in  his  pedigree  of  that  family  as 
having  "died  unmarried,"  with  no  hint  as  to  their  religious 
character.  They  were  younger  sons ;  but  their  eldest  brother, 
William,  may  have  been  the  boy  who  entered  St.  Omers  in 
1634;  this  William's  two  sons,  John  and  Peter,  are,  as  it 
would  seem,  the  two  unnamed  boys  already  in  our  school  in 
May  1666,  and  the  third  brother,  William,  entered  in  167 1, 
as  already  stated.  Their  sister  Mary  married  Ralph  Claver- 
ing  of  Callaley,  a  Gregorian ;  and  another,  Anne,  married 
Robert  Piumpton,  of  Plumpton,  whose  son  Robert  was  at  St. 
Gregory's  about  1680;  and  his  sons,  Robert  and  John,  were 
both  admitted  into  the  sodality  in  the  course  of  1706.  An- 
other sister,  Catherine,  married  Thomas  Witham ;  and  he, 
with  his  elder  brother,  William,  were  probably  the  two  boys 
who  entered  St.  Omers,  the  one  in  1637,  and  the  other  in 
1657.  But  of  an  earlier  generation  we  find  two  uncles — 
Roger,  who  as  Dom  Michael  was  professed  at  St.  Gregory's 
in  1636,  and  William,  in  1649,  under  the  name  of  Bede — both 
of  whom  may  confidently  be  reckoned  as  having  previously 
been  in  the  school. 

These  investigations  might  easily  be  multiplied,  for  almost 
any  family  selected  would  furnish  material  for  similar  research. 
Consequently  the  conviction  becomes  stronger,  that  as  our 
lists  for  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  are  mani- 
festly deficient,  the  numbers  might  be  well-nigh  doubled  by 
the  addition  of  such  boys  as  well-grounded  conjecture  might 
be  permitted  to  inscribe  on  the  roll  of  Gregorian  students. 
Many  names  have  already  been  identified  as  undoubtedly 
those  of  former  Gregorians.  But  conjecture  is  not  sufficient; 
it  must  be  replaced,  if  possible,  by  certainty.  This  subject 
for    interesting    inquiry   might    be   pursued   in   the    interval 

23 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

between  the  present  date  and  19 14,  the  centenary  of  the 
settlement  of  St.  Gregory's  at  Downside ;  and  by  that  date  a 
result  might  be  obtained  that  would  be  definite  enough  to 
satisfy  not  only  Gregorians,  but  also  the  cold  criticism  of  the 
mere  outsider  who  investigates  from  an  abstract  love  of 
truth. 


24  ^ 


r^    Q 


r  ^ 

o    ^ 

H     ^ 


CHAPTER    II 

HOUSE   CHRONICLE   DURING   THE   SEVENTEENTH 
AND   EIGHTEENTH    CENTURIES 

Description  of  the  school  buildings — The  Church — Abbot  Caverel's 
Foundation  —  Intercourse  between  Gregorians  and  Vedastines  — 
Esquerchin — Number  of  scholars — Support  of  royalist  soldiery — 
School  chronicle  —  Internal  politics  —  Social  life  —  Contemporary 
description  of  school  life — The  King's  Court — Litigation — French 
testimony  to  efficiency  of  St.  Gregory's  —  Siege  of  Douay — Prior 
Moore  and  his  additions  to  the  school  buildings  —  Progress  and 
difficulties  encountered  during  the  rebuilding  —  Changes  effected 
in  the  management  of  the  school — Prior  Gregory  Sharrock's  solution 
of  the  difficulties. 

Our  attention  has  hitherto  been  directed  to  fixing  the  date 
of  the  opening  of  St.  Gregory's  School,  and  also  on  an  enquiry 
into  those  who  may  have  been  the  first  boys  in  it ;  now  some- 
thing needs  to  be  said  about  the  buildings  which  sheltered 
so  many  exiled  young  Englishmen.  The  story  of  how  the 
monastery  and  school  came  to  be  built,  as  ascertained  from 
authentic  documentary  evidence,  is  as  follows.  Frs.  Roberts 
and  Bradshaw  had  both  been  in  England  working  for  the 
good  of  souls  previous  to  their  recall  to  Spain  in  1604  to 
attend  a  general  chapter  of  the  Spanish  Benedictine  con- 
gregation. Fr.  Bradshaw  left  that  meeting  holding  the 
newly-created  office  of  vicar-general  of  the  English-Spanish 
Benedictine  missioners,  and  took  with  him  to  Flanders  on  his 
return,  letters  of  recommendation  from  the  Spanish  general  to 
the  abbots  of  the  Low  Countries.     Amongst  these  was  Philip 

25 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

Caverel,  Abbot  of  St.  Vedast's,  at  Arras,  who  promised  to 
help  the  English  monks  by  building  a  monastery  for  them  and 
partly  endowing  it  if  they  could  obtain  official  permission  to 
make  a  settlement  there  from  the  King  of  Spain  and  the 
Archdukes  Albert  and  Isabella,  governors  of  the  Netherlands. 
The  Englishmen,  who  hitherto  had  been  in  hired  lodgings 
in  Douay,  living  a  conventual  life  as  best  they  could  under 
such  cramped  conditions,  hastened  to  procure  the  necessary 
authorisation;  and,  early  in  1606,  the  King  of  Spain  wrote  to 
the  archdukes  recommending  to  their  protection  and  favour 
these  men  whose  sole  purpose  was  to  work  for  souls  in 
England.  Perez,  the  general  of  the  Spanish  Benedictines, 
did  the  same.  The  Archduke  Albert  accordingly  wrote  to 
Abbot  Caverel  recommending  to  his  charity  the  English 
fathers  at  Douay,  and  his  example  was  followed  by  the 
nuncio  Carafa.  The  conditions  laid  down  by  Caverel 
having  thus  been  complied  with,  he  set  about  redeeming  his 
promise. 

The  accompanying  plate  will  furnish  the  reader  with  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  buildings.  For  the  sake  of  clearness,  we  may 
assume  that  the  view  corresponds  with  the  points  of  the  com- 
pass, and  that  the  church  wall  in  the  foreground  runs  due  east 
and  west.  The  whole  building  was  not  completed  at  once : 
the  west  side  of  the  quadrangle  and  a  portion,  or  possibly  the 
whole,  of  the  northern  side  were  built  first,  and  known  as 
the  old  college  ;  while  the  remaining  part,  the  new  college^  was 
added  some  nine  or  ten  years  later.  The  entire  building  was 
known  as  the  College  of  St.  Vaast  in  Douay,  for,  although 
it  comprised  three  distinct  portions,  yet,  as  one  section 
belonged  to  St.  Vaast's  at  Arras  and  was  occupied  by  monks 
and  students  of  that  house,  and  the  whole  depended  largely 
on  the  abbey  whence  it  derived  its  foundation,  its  ascription 
to  St.  Vaast's  followed  as  a  matter  of  course. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  point  out  the  position  of  the  various 

26 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

buildings  before  the  completion  of  the  entire  quadrangle ;  but, 
from  1625-26  onwards,  the  western  side  of  the  quadrangle, 
together  with  the  western  half  of  the  north  side,  was  occupied 
by  the  English  monks  and  their  pupils.  The  eastern  half 
of  the  northern  side,  together  with  the  eastern  side  of  the 
quadrangle,  was  reserved  to  the  use  of  the  monks  of  St. 
Vaast,  who  were  professors  or  students  following  the  Douay 


OLD  ST.  Gregory's,  douay 

(As  it  appeared  in  1627) 

University  course.  The  building,  besides  class-rooms  for 
theology,  philosophy,  and  humanities,  contained  a  great  hall 
for  disputations,  and  the  area  of  the  enclosed  quadrangle  was 
considerable. 

The  church,  which  occupied  the  south  side  of  the  quad- 
rangle, was  common  to  both  the  Gregorians  and  the  Vedastines. 
The  style  was  Gothic,  and  the  building  was  similar  to,  but 
smaller  than,  the  church  which  Abbot  Caverel  had  erected 
for  the  Jesuits  in  Arras.     The  entrance  was  close  by  the  great 

27 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

gate  of  St.  Gregory's  Monastery  and  School,  and  opened  on  to 
the  Rue  St.  Benoit.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  street  took  its 
name  from  the  monks,  and  retains  it  to  the  present  day.  The 
church  also  was  dedicated  to  St.  Gregory,  for  it  had  been 
built  by  Abbot  Caverel  specially  for  his  English  proteges,  but 
with  the  stipulation  that  the  Vedastine  monks  and  their  pupils 
should  share  its  use  with  the  Englishmen  whenever  they 
wished.  It  was  an  unusual  but  a  pleasing  spectacle  to  see 
two  distinct  communities,  belonging  to  different  nationalities, 
each  in  their  distinctive  habits,  mingling  indiscriminately, 
according  to  each  one's  respective  rank,  in  the  choir  stalls, 
intent  only  on  the  due  and  solemn  performance  of  their 
common  meed  of  praise  and  prayer  before  God's  altar. 
There  was  no  other  communication  between  them,  except 
on  occasional  visits  of  ceremony  and  friendship.  In  recog- 
nition, not  only  of  their  mutual  dependence  on  the  abbey 
of  St.  Vaast's  at  Arras,  but  also  of  the  gratitude  of  St. 
Gregory's  for  so  enduring  a  benefaction,  it  was  agreed  that 
the  superior  of  the  Vedastines  should  always  be  provided 
with  a  seat  on  the  right  of  the  Prior  of  St.  Gregory's;  that 
Vedastine  monks  should  have  precedence  of  Gregorians  of 
the  same  standing  in  the  order;  and  that  the  lay  students 
attending  St.  Vaast's — whose  number  rose  to  400 — should 
everywhere  take  precedence  over  those  of  the  English  Bene- 
dictines. By  a  strict  and  loyal  adherence  to  these  regulations, 
all  friction  between  the  two  establishments  was  obviated ;  and 
there  is  no  record  or  suggestion  of  the  slightest  disagreement 
between  them  in  the  long  period  of  about  175  years  during 
which  they  resided  under  the  same  roof. 

Over  the  outer  doorway  of  the  church.  Abbot  Caverel 
placed  the  arms  of  his  own  family  and  those  of  his  abbey, 
adperpetuatn  rei  7?iemonam.  His  own  escutcheon,  surmounted 
by  the  abbatial  crosier  and  mitre,  bore  the  following  blazon : 
Argent,  chevron  vert,  between  three  cinque-foils,  gules.     The 

28 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

other  coat-of-arms,  also  surmounted  by  crosier  and  mitre, 
bore  the  semblance  of  an  ancient  turreted  castle,  and  the 
legend  underneath — Casiellum  Nobiliacum. 

The  pious  and  munificent  abbot  died  in  1636  :  his  body 
was  interred  at  Arras,  but  his  heart  was  carried  to  Douay, 
where  it  was  buried  with  great  ceremony  before  the  high 
altar  of  St.  Gregory's,  under  a  great  brass  plate  on  which  was 
engraved  a  heart  held  up  by  a  monk  of  St.  Vaast's  and  an 
English  Benedictine  monk,  with  a  label  containing  these 
touching  words :  "  Cor  meum  jungatur  vobis."  (Let  my 
heart  be  joined  to  you.)  Round  the  plate  ran  the  following 
inscription  :  "Rmi  D.D.  Philippi  Caverel  Antistitis  S.  Vedasti 
Atrebatens  :  Fundatoris  hujus  aedis  sacrae,  Conventus  Gre- 
goriani  Collegiique  Vedastini  quae  sui  monasterii  sumptibus 
a  fundamentis  excitavit.  Cor  hie  conditum  est,  anno  1636, 
19  Decembris.  Obierat  Calendis  ejusdem  mensis.  Requiescat 
in  pace."  Dom  Benet  Weldon  thus  renders  this  inscription 
in  English  :  "  Here  lies,  reposed  on  the  19th  of  December 
1636,  the  heart  of  the  most  Reverend  Lord,  Philip  Caverel, 
Abbot  of  St.  Vaast  at  Arras,  founder  of  this  Church  and 
Convent  of  St.  Gregory  and  of  the  College  of  St.  Vaast, 
which  he  reared  up  from  the  very  foundations  at  the  cost 
of  his  Monastery,  and  died  on  the  ist  of  December  of  the 
year  abovesaid."  Later,  a  tablet  was  put  over  the  doorway, 
as  a  lasting  expression  of  the  gratitude  that  all  Gregorians 
must  ever  entertain  towards  the  memory  of  their  great  bene- 
factor.    It  bore  the  following  inscription  : — 

"  Collegium  Vedastinum  k  Ro.  in  Christo  P.D.D.  Philippo 
de  Caverel,  Abbate  Sti.  Vedasti,  fundatum :  ad  insigne  hujus 
almae  Academiae  incrementum  et  ornamentum  :  in  quo  et  sui 
monasterii  ordinisque  monachi  in  bonarum  litterarum  studiis 
educarentur  sub  regente  Vedastino :  et  Benedictini  Angli 
patria  sua  pro  fide  extorres  inquilini  et  alumni  munificentia 
ejusdem  praelati  sub  suae  nationis  priore  et  litteris  sacris  et 

29 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

moribus  regularibiis  ad  Angliae  conversionem  promovendam 
exercerentur  :  geminum  collegium  geminae  charitatis  in  Deum 
et  proximum  admirabile  monumentum  :  magnanimi  praelati 
dignum  opus  :  magnifici  monasterii  praeclarum  membrum : 
Benedictinae  pietatis  immortale  exemplum." 
It  may  be  Englished  thus : — 

This  College  of  St.  Vedast, 

Founded  by  the  Rev.  Father  in  Christ  Dom  Philip  de  Caverel, 

Abbot  of  St.  Vedast's, 

To  the  great  advantage  and  honour  of  this  University  : 

A   double    College 

in  which 

The  monks  of  his  own  monastery  and  order, 

Under  a  superior  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Vedast's, 

Might  be  thoroughly  educated  in  the  study  of  letters  ; 

and, 

By  the  generosity  of  the  same  prelate,  the  English  Benedictines,  and 

the  students  and  the  youths  entrusted  to  them,  exiled  from  their 

own  country  for  the  faith,  might   be  trained   under  a 

prior  of  their  own  nation,  both  in  sacred  learning 

and    monastic   observance,    for   the 

conversion  of  England  : 

is 

A  striking  monument  of  his  love,  both  of  God  and  his  neighbour: 

The  worthy  work  of  a  high-souled  prelate : 

A  notable  part  of  a  distinguished  monastery : 

and 

A  lasting  example  of  Benedictine  devotion. 

The  townspeople  of  Douay  were  fully  alive  to  the  advantages 
accruing  to  the  city  from  this  addition  to  the  public  buildings ; 
accordingly,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Echevins — the  mayor  and 
aldermen,  as  we  should  say — on  April  6,  1634,  a  resolution 
was  agreed  to,  returning  thanks  to  Abbot  Caverel  for  having 
erected  the  college  of  St.  Vedast  (including  that  of  St.  Gregory), 
whereby  their  town  was  greatly  embellished ;  and,  in  return 
for  a  stipulated  sum   of  money,  remitted  certain  dues,  and 

30 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

from  that  date  forward  relinquished  all  rights  on  their  part 
to  exact  them. 

The  parent  abbey  of  Arras  undertook  to  be  responsible  for 
all  expenses  for  repairs  either  to  the  church  or  dwelling ;  and 
regularly  defrayed  such  charges  from  the  beginning  up  to 
1778,  when  this  self-imposed  obligation  was  by  arrangement 
commuted  for  a  fixed  sum,  which  the  Arras  house  undertook 
to  pay  annually  to  the  English  Benedictines  of  Douay. 

But  Abbot  Caverel's  benefactions  did  not  end  here.  He 
conferred  upon  the  school  a  foundation  of  2000  florins 
annually,  for  the  maintenance  of  twelve  scholars  from  their 
entry  till  they  should  take  the  doctorate  either  of  theology  or 
arts ;  by  this  means  support  was  ensured  for  a  certain  number 
of  monks,  for  the  scholars  in  the  ordinary  course  would  not 
proceed  so  far  with  their  studies,  unless  they  embraced  a 
religious  life. 

Abbot  Caverel  gave  another  proof  of  his  solicitude  :  he 
recognised  the  need  of  some  place  to  which  the  monks  and 
boys  might  retire  in  case  of  a  contagious  disease  breaking 
out  in  the  town,  or  whither  they  might  betake  themselves 
for  rest  or  relaxation,  and  gave  them  a  country  house  situated 
in  its  own  demesne  of  several  acres  on  the  banks  of  the 
Escrebieux,  on  the  outskirts  of  a  village  called  Esquerchin, 
some  two  miles  distant  from  Douay.  This  noble  gift  was 
made  on  September  23,  1619,  and  remained  in  the  possession 
of  St.  Gregory's,  a  valued  portion  of  its  property,  up  to  the 
time  of  the  French  Revolution.  Constant  mention  of  this 
country  house  is  to  be  found  in  letters,  account-books,  and 
other  documents  ;  and,  as  will  be  seen,  it  figures  in  the  story 
of  the  adventures  and  sufferings  of  the  Gregorians  who  had  to 
experience  the  misfortunes  of  the  Reign  of  Terror. 

The  number  of  boys  in  the  school  did  not  fluctuate  to  any 
appreciable  extent  during  a  long  course  of  years,  for,  from 
returns    prepared   for   presidential  visitations,   Lewis  Owen's 

31 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

three  dozen  youths  in  the  school  about  1620,  holds  good  till 
about  1630;  twenty  years  later,  the  number  stood  at  29  or 
30,  and  rose  in  1655  to  35,  reaching  41  in  1658,  but  falling  to 
34  in  1661. 

Corroborative  testimony  may  also  be  gathered  from  the 
careful  inventories  drawn  up  for  the  president's  inspection 
at  time  of  visitation.  These  highly  interesting  and  curious 
documents,  entered  in  a  special  book,  have,  by  good  fortune, 
come  down  to  us  in  their  entirety.  They  shew,  as  nothing 
else  could,  the  poverty  and  Spartan  simplicity  of  the  estab- 
lishment. Thus  we  gather  that  in  1636,  in  addition  to 
beds  in  certain  guest  chambers,  the  house  possessed  79 
bedsteads  for  the  use  of  the  monks  and  boys.  Allowing 
25  for  the  use  of  the  monks,  and  a  margin  of  empty  ones 
in  case  of  increase  of  numbers,  we  have  40  set  aside  for 
the  use  of  the  boys  then  in  residence.  Refectory  utensils 
appear  to  afford  no  guidance,  for  the  following  list  con- 
tains all  that  is  credited  to  the  "  Religiouse  Refectory " : 
"  Imp.,  great  pueter  flaggons,  8 ;  It.,  saltsellers,  8 ;  It.,  pueter 
cuppes,  15  ;  It,  silver  cuppes,  14;  It.,  silver  spownes,  20;  It, 
pueter  spoones,  12  ;  It.,  napkins,  54;  It.,  great  table-cloathes, 
12  ;  It,  little  table-cloathes,  4."  The  furnishing  of  the  boys' 
refectory  is  equally  simple  :  "  Impr.,  table-cloathes,  3 ;  It.,  fine 
napkins,  24  ;  It.,  groaser  napkins,  27  ;  It.,  towells,  2  ;  It.,  flag- 
gons, 6;  It,  cuppes,  16;  It,  pueter  spoones,  20;  It,  latten 
kandlestickes,  2  ;  It.,  saltsellers,  5."  But  under  the  heading 
"In  the  Kitchin,"  there  were,  in  addition,  "42  porringers,  50 
Trenchers,  44  great  portion  dishes,  75  little  portion  dishes, 
12  newe  Trenchers."  This  shews  that  some  articles,  such  as 
porringers  and  trenchers,  did  double  duty,  and  that  boys'  own 
private  property — silver  cups  and  spoons — was  not  included  in 
the  possessions  of  the  house,  and  thus  we  are  cast  back  upon 
the  bedsteads  for  any  reliable  indication  as  to  the  number  of 
boys  then  residing  in  the  school. 

32 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

It  may  be  interesting  to  compare  this  list  with  the  refectory 
belongings  in  the  year  1751,  upwards  of  a  hundred  years  later. 
"Students'  Refectory:  16  silver  spoons,  7  goblets  of  silver,  6 
silver  forks,  7  pots  of  pewter,  2  mustard  pots,  5  salt-cellars,  3 
pepper-boxes,  an  oil-bottle  and  vinegar-pot,  12  candlesticks, 
7  snuffers,  4  tables,  2  chairs,  4  benches,"  &c. ;  and,  further, 
under  the  heading  of  "  Kitchen,"  presumably  for  the  general 
use  of  the  whole  house :  "37  pewter  dishes,  120  plates,  20 
earthen  ones,"  &c. 

From  a  return  offered  to  the  English  Parliament  in  the  year 
1 700,  giving  details  concerning  the  religious  houses  and  colleges 
abroad,  it  appears  that  St.  Gregory's  had  then  a  community 
of  twenty-five,  and  that  the  numbers  in  the  school  had  recently 
stood  between  fifty  and  sixty.  The  exact  words  are  :  "  A  col- 
lege in  the  convent  of  Enghsh  youths,  they  have  been  known 
to  be  fifty-nine " ;  and,  some  quarter  of  a  century  later,  the 
testimony  of  a  boy  in  the  school  at  that  period  is  to  the  same 
effect.  Between  these  two  dates  comes  the  account  given 
by  the  Maurists,  DD.  Martene  and  Durand,  who  visited  St. 
Gregory's  in  1718,  and  found  thirty  boys  in  the  school,  as 
they  state  in  their  Voyage  Litteraire.  The  average  thus  ob- 
tained held  good  till  a  collapse  which  occurred  about  the  year 
1780;  but  a  few  years  later  the  number  was  raised  again,  through 
the  energy  of  Prior  Jerome  Sharrock,  to  between  eighty  and 
ninety.  At  the  catastrophe  of  the  Reign  of  Terror  the  school 
was  completely  dispersed  and  broken  up  ;  and  a  new  beginning, 
this  time  on  the  native  soil  of  England,  has  carried  on  the 
old  traditions  to  the  present  day,  with  varying  but  mostly 
ascending  fortune. 

In  the  Parliamentary  return  of  1700  the  Paris  house  of 
St.  Edmund  maintained  twenty-four  monks,  but  there  is  no 
mention  of  scholars  either  there  or  at  Dieulouard,  where  the 
number  of  the  community  is  given  as  being  sixteen.  Lamb- 
spring  at  that  time  had  a  flourishing  community  of  thirty,  but 

ZZ  c 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

there  is  no  mention  of  a  school.  St.  Gregory's,  in  common 
with  all  the  English  religious  houses  abroad,  supplied  more 
wants  than  those  of  education,  or  even  of  the  English  mission. 
They  were  rallying  points  for  poor  outcasts — men  who  had 
given  up,  or  been  despoiled  of,  their  all  for  conscience'  sake. 
In  addition  to  these  poverty-stricken  fugitives,  the  visitation 
returns  of  Dieulouard  make  constant  mention  of  relief  and 
entertainment  afforded  to  English,  Irish,  and  Scotch  soldiers, 
and  this  is  particularly  noticeable  about  the  period  of  Marl- 
borough's wars.  The  same  occurred  at  St.  Gregory's,  which 
had  had  earlier  experience  in  that  particular  form  of  charity ; 
for  we  gather  from  the  returns  prepared  in  July  1660  that 
during  the  previous  nine  months  they  had  given  dinner, 
practically  daily,  to  about  a  score  of  English  and  Scotch 
soldiers ;  they  had  frequently  entertained  officers  at  dinner 
or  supper  for  two  or  three  days  together,  and  during  the 
following  year  they  were  called  upon  during  many  successive 
months  to  feed  fourteen  or  fifteen  Scotch  soldiers  three  times 
a  week.  These  mendicant  soldiers  were  not  improbably 
Royalists,  who,  during  the  Commonwealth,  had  sought  service 
or  an  asylum  abroad,  and  on  the  imminent  chance  of  the 
Restoration,  or  immediately  after  its  happy  accomplishment, 
were  hurrying  back  to  England  in  hopes — alas  !  too  often  to 
be  shattered — of  receiving  a  suitable  reward  for  their  sacrifices 
and  sufferings  in  the  royal  cause  from  the  king  who  had  come 
back  to  his  own  again. 

The  school  chronicle  of  this  period  is  very  scanty,  and 
references  to  the  subject  are  most  difficult  to  discover;  the 
council  book  of  the  monastery  contains  occasional  and 
passing  references  to  the  affairs  of  the  school,  and  this  source 
of  information,  in  the  practical  absence  of  any  other,  will 
bring  to  light  a  few  fragmentary  and  isolated  details,  which 
must  stand  for  a  more  continuous  chronicle. 

An  incident,  however,  has  been  preserved  in  Dodd's  Church 

34 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

History.  Philip,  Cardinal  Howard,  O.P.,  was  raised  to  the 
purple  in  1675,  and,  after  receiving  the  hat  at  Antwerp,  set 
out  for  Rome.  "  He  took  his  way  through  Douay,"  says 
Dodd,  "  and  was  entertained  with  singular  marks  of  respect 
by  Mr.  Layburn  (president  of  the  secular  college),  as  also  by 
the  English  Benedictine  monks,  who  met  him  the  next  day  in 
procession,  and,  inviting  him  to  dinner,  caused  Te  Deuin  to  be 
sung  and  an  oration,  remarkable  for  eloquence,  pronounced 
by  one  of  their  scholars."  Fr.  Raymund  Palmer,  O.P.,  in 
his  Life  of  Cardinal  Howard^  quotes  Anthony  k  Wood,  who 
thus  comments  on  this  reception  accorded  to  the  Domini- 
can cardinal :  "  All  which  was  so  well  performed  that  Vise. 
Stafford  was  pleased  to  say  that  it  was  the  only  fit  reception 
his  Eminence  had  met  with  in  all  his  journey."  This  highly- 
praised  oration  was  the  poetical  composition  of  Br.  Wilfrid 
Reeves,  who  that  year  entered  the  community.  He  was  a 
convert,  and  from  that  time  till  1685  "he  instructed  English 
youths  in  the  said  priory  in  humanity,  poetry,  rhetoric,  and 
Greek."  The  oration  was  published,  being  entitled.  Carmen 
Fanegyriaim,  emmentissimo  6^  reverendissimo  principi  Philippo 
Howard^  Cardinali  de  Norfolk.  Amongst  other  published 
works  of  this  talented  religious,  given  by  Dodd,  may  be  men- 
tioned two,  as  having  a  connection  with  school  history.  The 
first  was  called  Megalesia  Sacra  in  Assufuptione  Magnae  Matris 
Dei.,  in  B.  V.  Sodalitate  recitata,  coram  RR.  PP.  Capitular ibus 
Congreg.  Anglo-Benedictinae  ibidem  congregatis.  Its  interest 
to  us  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  was  recited  by  "  William  More, 
son  of  Sir  Henry  More,  of  Fawley,  in  Berks,  and  the  prime 
student  in  the  school  of  poetry  in  the  said  college  of  Bene- 
dictines at  Douay."  The  other  was  a  Carmen  Jubilaeum  in 
honour  of  the  celebration  of  the  sacerdotal  jubilee  of  D.  Joseph 
Frere,  then  cathedral  prior  of  Coventry,  and  former  prior  of 
St.  Gregory's,  and  probably  one  of  the  very  earliest  boys  in 
the  newly-started  school  of  St.  Gregory. 

35 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

At  this  point  we  may  turn  to  the  council  book,  and  extract 
from  its  pages  whatever  may  have  a  bearing  on  the  school,  or 
throw  light  on  its  history. 

On  August  24,  1684,  the  council  decided  to  put  the  rhetori- 
cians and  poets  under  one  master,  not  being  numerous  enough 
to  justify  the  withdrawal  of  another  monk  from  his  own  studies 
to  give  to  each  a  separate  master. 

On  October  5,  1685,  Dom  Charles  Sumner  was  appointed 
to  the  office  of  prefect  of  studies,  and  Dom  Gregory  Skelton 
was  given  him  in  adjutoriimi^  which  may  signify  a  sub-prefect 
of  discipline.  At  the  same  time,  Br.  Bernard  Greaves,  Br. 
Wilfrid  Reeves,  and  Dom  Edmund  Taylor  were  entrusted  with 
the  teaching  of  humanities  ;  and  thus  we  have  the  school  staff. 
A  year  later,  on  October  5,  1686,  Dom  Joseph  Hesketh  was 
made  prefect  of  studies  and  master  of  the  class  of  syntax; 
the  others  who  formed  the  staff  were  DD.  Maurus  Barber, 
Cuthbert  Hutton,  and  Benedict  Hemsworth. 

On  September  29,  1696,  Dom  Gregory  Greenwood  took  up 
the  prefectship  of  studies,  with  Dom  Gilbert  Knowles  as  his 
assistant.  An  insight  is  obtained  into  the  ardour  thrown  into 
the  studies  in  1698.  for  on  October  11  of  that  year,  Brs.  John 
Stourton  and  George  Fitzwilliams,  two  young  monks,  and 
formerly  boys  in  the  school,  were  granted  the  needful  per- 
mission to  proceed  to  their  Mastership  or  Doctorate  of  Arts 
in  the  University  of  Douay ;  and  early  in  the  following  year 
(January  25,  1699),  like  permission  was  accorded  to  D.  Thomas 
Southcote.  By  March  18,  1703,  four  more  of  the  monks,  all 
previously  in  the  school,  obtained  leave  to  take  their  Doctorate 
of  Arts — namely,  Gilbert  Knowles,  Edward  Chorley,  Basil 
Warwick,  and  Cuthbert  Farn worth. 

From  the  minutes  of  a  debate  in  council  on  January  13, 
1698,  it  incidentally  appears  that  the  ordinary  pension  for 
each  boy  was  then  £,2^.  This  sum  only  sufficed  to  meet 
working  expenses ;  for  the  president,  Dom  Bernard  Gregson, 

36 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

having  proposed  for  their  acceptance  several  youths  to  be 
educated  for  the  house  of  Dieulouard  at  the  reduced  pension 
of  ;£iS}  the  council  declined,  alleging  that  the  resources  of 
the  establishment  could  not  furnish  the  balance  for  their 
sustenance. 

The  closing  years  of  the  seventeenth  century  found  the 
financial  prospects  of  the  school  somewhat  insecure,  which 
constrained  the  prior,  D.  John  Philipson,  to  lay  before  his 
council,  on  April  26,  1699,  the  anxieties  which  troubled  him. 
He  was  convinced  that  more  boys  were  absolutely  needed 
to  enable  the  school  to  pay  its  way ;  and,  help  failing  where 
he  might  have  expected  it,  he  and  they  finally  decided,  as 
a  desperate  resource,  to  lower  the  pension  to  ;£"2o,  and,  in 
special  cases,  even  to  ;£i6.  This  state  of  things  is  explained 
in  two  undated  papers  drawn  up  by  a  predecessor  of  Prior 
Philipson,  Dom  Jerome  Hesketh,  who  had  held  office  from 
1 68 1  to  1685.  In  brief,  these  papers  state  that  St.  Gregory's 
School  was  founded  by  Abbot  Philip  Caverel  for  the  use  of 
St.  Gregory's  Monastery,  and  as  a  seminary  for  it ;  and  was 
accordingly  endowed  by  the  munificent  founder  with  several 
burses  for  the  benefit  of  boys  wishing  to  become  monks. 
These  boys  formed,  however,  but  a  small  percentage  of  the 
whole  number  in  the  school.  The  fathers  of  the  congregation, 
perceiving  the  advantage  derived  by  the  Douay  Convent  from 
this  source,  would  fain  have  had  the  other  houses  of  the  con- 
gregation share  in  these  endowments ;  and,  hence,  the  general 
chapter  held  in  1661  decreed  that  St.  Gregory's  should  be  the 
common  school  of  the  congregation  for  humanities ;  and  this 
order  was  renewed  and  confirmed  in  each  succeeding  chapter 
up  to  and  including  that  of  1681.  Relying  on  the  arrange- 
ment thus  come  to,  St.  Gregory's  expended  a  large  sum  of 
money  (it  is  put  down  as  nearly  15,000  florins)  in  erecting 
suitable  buildings  and  providing  everything  requisite  for  the 
scholars.     In  addition,  in  the  fulfilment  of  this  scheme,  St. 

37 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

Gregory's  was  at  the  expense  of  a  regular  and  continuous 
outlay  during  several  years  for  the  support  and  maintenance 
of  a  staff  of  prefects,  masters,  and  servants,  neither  asking 
nor  receiving  any  contribution  from  the  houses  which  derived 
benefit  under  the  arrangement.  But  the  spirit  of  the  chapter 
decrees  began  to  be  evaded  by  President  Gregson  when 
he  sent  youths  to  the  other  houses  for  education ;  this 
drew  some  very  plain  language  from  Prior  Hesketh  in 
animadverting  on  the  breach  of  contract.  This  strongly- 
worded  document  may  confidently  be  ascribed  to  the  year 
1685,  shortly  before  the  assembly  of  that  year's  general  chap- 
ter. Intrinsically,  no  reason  existed  why  the  other  houses 
should  not  open  and  maintain  their  own  schools  as  at  the 
present  day ;  but  as  things  stood,  St.  Gregory's  had  loyally 
adhered  to  the  arrangement  made  by  chapter,  and  by  means 
of  it  several  of  the  monks  professed  at  other  houses  had 
received  their  education  at  Douay  at  great  expense  to  St. 
Gregory's.  It  seemed  only  just  either  that  the  original 
arrangement  should  be  adhered  to,  as  demanded  by  Prior 
Hesketh,  or,  as  an  alternative  which  does  not  seem  to  have 
occurred  to  him,  that  an  equitable  compensation  should  have 
been  made  to  meet  the  expenses  incurred  by  Douay.  But 
from  1685  till  the  end  of  the  century  it  seems  clear  that  the 
president's  policy  told  adversely  on  the  fortunes  of  St.  Gregory's; 
and,  by  way  of  counteracting  its  results,  the  prior  and  council 
resolved  to  lower  the  pensions,  in  hopes  of  attracting  more 
boys  and  so  restoring  the  prestige  of  the  school.  This  end 
was  secured,  for  during  another  eighty  years  we  hear  no  more 
of  similar  causes  of  complaint,  and  the  pensions  were  again 
raised  to  £2^  before  1721. 

Notwithstanding  these  serious  hindrances  and  embarrass- 
ments, the  Douay  masters  continued  to  fit  themselves  for 
educating  the  youths  entrusted  to  them  by  an  assiduous 
pursuit  of  their  own   studies.     It  is,  therefore,  gratifying  to 

38 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

learn  that  their  industry  did  not  pass  unnoticed  by  their 
neighbours ;  and  still  more,  to  observe  that,  in  spite  of  heavy 
drains  upon  their  strength,  they  displayed  a  willingness  to  help 
others.  Thus,  early  in  1702,  D.  Nicholas  Paien,  abbot  of  St. 
Andrew's  in  Gateau  Cambresis,  requested  the  prior  of  St.  Gre- 
gory's to  lend  him  one  of  his  community  for  the  purpose  of 
teaching  his  own  monks  "  physics."  The  council  book  men- 
tions that  the  abbot's  request  was  granted,  and,  though  he  could 
ill  be  spared,  Dom  John  Stourton  was  sent  to  Gateau  Cambresis. 
The  council  book  records,  under  the  date  of  October  11, 
1704,  that  Dom  Gilbert  Knowles  was  appointed  '-'  Magister 
commensalium  nosfrorum,^'  and  Dom  Basil  Warwick  "  in 
eorundem  Praefectus"  i.e.  prefect  of  studies  and  discipline 
respectively.  On  March  i,  1705,  D.  Francis  Rich  became 
infirmarian  and  prefect  of  the  sodality.  On  January  20, 
1706,  D.  Edward  Ghorley  assumed  the  prefectship  of  the 
boys,  and,  at  the  same  time,  D.  Basil  Warwick  and  Br.  Paul 
Chandler  joined  the  teaching  staff;  in  the  same  year,  on  July 
5,  D.  Michael  PuUein,  the  ex-prior,  was  appointed  prefect  of 
the  sodality,  while  D.  Anselm  Mannock,  later  a  voluminous 
writer  and  author  of  The  Poor  Man's  Catechism,  became 
infirmarian.  In  1707  (July  3),  D.  Michael  Pullein  resigned 
the  prefectship  of  the  sodality  to  D.  George  Fitzwilliams ;  but 
a  very  short  while  after,  this  father  was  called  away  from  Douay 
by  the  president  to  teach  at  Lambspring.  On  October  13, 
1709,  D.  Basil  Warwick  became  prefect  of  the  boys,  and  on 
March  9,  1710,  D.  Hugh  Frankland  was  appointed  infirmarian, 
later  in  the  year  (October  3)  adding  the  prefectship  of  the 
sodality  to  his  duties.  On  this  latter  date,  D.  Lawrence  York, 
afterwards  to  be  so  well  known  as  a  vicar-apostolic,  was  given 
his  first  opportunity  of  shewing  his  powers  of  controlling  and 
governing  others,  being  made  prefect  of  the  boys;  and  DD. 
Thomas  Nelson,  Bernard  Whitby,  and  Ambrose  Brown  were 
added  to  the  teaching  staff. 

39 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

No  further  items  of  information  about  the  school  occur  in 
the  council  book  till  November  23,  171 2,  when  it  is  recorded 
that  D.  Lawrence  York  being  overworked  with  the  tuition  of 
two  classes,  D.  Placid  Haggerston  was  appointed  to  relieve 
him  of  some  of  his  work.  On  November  6,  1713,  D. 
Edmund  Taylor  took  over  the  prefectship  of  the  sodality; 
he  and  D.  Michael  Pullein  being  at  the  same  time  nominated 
confessors  for  the  boys.  On  April  13,  17 14,  D.  Edward 
Chorley  obtained  permission  to  proceed  to  his  degrees  in  the 
University  of  Douay.  On  August  10,  17 16,  D.  Joseph 
Wyche,  a  monk  of  Lambspring,  who  had,  together  with  a 
D.  Joseph  Kennedy,  shortly  before  entered  the  community 
at  St.  Gregory's  and  been  admitted  a  member  of  the  house 
council,  was  named  prefect  of  the  sodality  and  confessor  to 
the  school.  In  this  latter  appointment  he  was  associated 
with  DD.  Michael  Pullein  and  xAmbrose  Brown.  Two  months 
later,  on  October  20,  D.  Lawrence  York  became  prefect  of 
studies,  and  at  the  same  time  the  staff  was  augmented  by  the 
inclusion  therein  of  DD.  Joseph  (?  Wyche  or  Kennedy),  Bede 
Knight,  and  Maurus  Buckley.  On  November  30,  171 7,  D. 
Bernard  Wythie  took  over  the  prefectship  of  the  boys,  and 
at  the  same  date  the  confessors  to  the  school  were  DD. 
Michael  Pullein,  Edward  Chorley,  Joseph  Kennedy,  and 
Lawrence  York.  On  March  25,  17 18,  an  entry  in  the  council 
book  informs  us  of  an  interesting  discussion  which  was 
mooted  by  the  prior  at  the  suggestion  of  the  regent  of  St. 
Vedast's  College.  It  was  that  the  boys  of  St.  Gregory's 
should  take  a  share  in  the  Latin  plays  acted  at  the  different 
schools  in  Douay.  For  various  reasons,  carefully  detailed, 
but  which  may  be  reduced  to  the  paucity  of  their  numbers 
at  the  time,  it  was  resolved  that  St.  Gregory's  was  not  in  a 
position  to  enter  upon  such  an  undertaking.  This,  though 
negative  in  character,  is  the  earliest  reference  to  the  plays 
which  in  after  years  were  destined  to  become  so  marked  a 

40 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

feature  in  the  life  of  St.  Gregory's,  and  in  the  training  of  its 
boys  in  elocution,  and  the  appreciation  of  the  masterpieces  of 
their  native  language. 

The  council  book  records  a  change  in  the  masters  and  pre- 
fects as  taking  place  on  September  29,  but  omits  the  trifling 
detail  of  the  names  !  The  last  entry  in  the  old  council  book, 
which  was  filled  up  early  in  1726,  records  the  appointment 
of  Dom  Placid  Howard  (of  Corby)  to  the  prefectship  of 
the  sodality  on  September  20,  1725.  He  was  at  that  date 
also  prefect  of  studies  and  master  of  the  class  of  poetry. 
Moreover,  we  learn  that  Dom  Benedict  Stear  taught  the 
grammar  class,  and  Dom  Joseph  Carteret  the  class  of  figures. 

These  are  the  bare  bones  of  school  chronicle,  the  skeleton 
devoid  of  flesh  and  life.  On  this  meagre  framework,  however, 
it  is  possible  to  construct  a  living  picture  of  the  past,  for 
until  the  French  Revolution  no  very  essential  difference  in 
habits  and  customs  distinguished  one  decade  from  another, 
or  even  one  century  from  the  next.  Even  up  to  very  modern 
days  the  style  of  living  provided  in  all  schools  for  the  most 
delicately  nurtured  boys  was  Spartan  in  its  simplicity  and 
severity ;  the  punishments  in  vogue  tended  to  the  Draconian  ; 
and,  to  a  large  extent,  the  general  mode  of  life  then  deemed 
adequate  for  preparing  youths  to  be  the  preux  chevaliers  and 
gallants  of  fashion  which  they  in  fact  became,  after  emerging 
from  the  chrysalis  state  of  schoolboydom  into  the  fully  de- 
veloped country  squire,  the  staid  man  of  business,  or  the 
gay  young  spark  about  town,  would  not  now  be  considered 
suitable  for  attaining  those  results. 

Making  due  allowance  for  minor  developments,  the  picture 
preserved  for  us  by  a  boy  who  was  at  St.  Gregory's  between 
the  years  1721-26,  will  stand  for  a  truthful  representation 
of  school  life  during  the  century  previous  to  Gilbert  Langley's 
admission  into  the  ranks  of  its  alumni,  and  also  for  the 
period  after  he  left  Douay  till  the  break-up  at  the  Reign  of 

41 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

Terror.  This  boy's  testimony  is  the  more  valuable  and  in- 
teresting, in  that  he  commenced  his  education  at  the  London 
Charterhouse  School.  Being  thus  an  old  Carthusian,  as  well 
as  an  old  Gregorian,  he  was  in  a  position  to  compare  one 
school  with  the  other;  and  it  is  remarkable  to  find  that  the 
balance  turned  in  favour  of  St.  Gregory's.  Gregorians  cannot 
take  this  credit  entirely  to  themselves,  for  the  method  of 
education  praised  by  Langley  was,  with  minor  local  differ- 
ences, that  pursued  in  all  Catholic  schools  of  the  period. 

Gilbert  Langley  was  the  eldest  son  of  Haldanby  Langley, 
an  eminent  goldsmith  of  London,  and  nephew  to  Sir  Thomas 
Langley,  Bart.,  being  thus  a  cadet  of  the  Langleys  of  Higham 
Gobion,  Beds.  He  received  his  earliest  instructions  at  the 
hands  of  his  grandmother,  Mrs.  Peck,  of  Gildersley,  co. 
Derbyshire ;  but  in  his  seventh  year  he  returned  to  his 
father,  living  in  Serle  Street,  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  and  was 
by  him  "put  to  school  to  Mr.  Adams  in  Red  Lion  Street, 
from  whose  prudent  Instructions  (being  naturally  addicted 
to  Study)  he  in  his  tender  Years  made  so  great  an  improve- 
ment, that  few  or  none  in  the  same  School  were  thought  his 
Equals,  and  his  Father,  unwilling  to  curb  the  promising  Genius 
of  his  Child,  by  the  Advice  and  Consent  of  his  Master,  re- 
moved him  from  thence  to  the  Charter  House,  and  thereby 
gave  him  a  fairer  opportunity  of  exerting  his  natural  Parts, 
rightly  judging,  that  the  numerous  Concourse  of  Students, 
would  excite  his  Son  to  a  generous  Emulation  of  Youths 
about  his  Age,  in  the  knowledge  of  such  Authors  as  his 
Master  thought  proper  to  put  into  their  Hands.  Here  in 
a  short  Time  he  began  to  read  Virgil,  Ovid,  Horace,  and 
Demosthenes,  and  had  as  great  knowledge  of  those  sublime 
Authors,  as  his  tender  Years  would  admit  of."  Judging  by 
the  authors  referred  to,  it  would  be  natural  to  suppose  that 
young  Langley  was  at  the  time  well  advanced  in  his  teens, 
but  it  turns  out  he  had  not,  when  he  left  the  Charterhouse, 

42 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

completed  eleven  years  of  age !  He  draws  an  interesting 
comparison  between  the  systems  of  education  in  vogue  at 
that  date  in  the  great  English  schools  and  in  St.  Gregory's, 
and,  we  may  add,  the  other  English  schools  abroad. 

"  But  such  is  the  misfortune  of  some  of  onx  English  Schools, 
that  the  masters  either  to  please  the  Parents,  or  indulge  the 
Child,  hurry  their  pupils  from  Class  to  Class,  without  con- 
sulting whether  they  are  sufficiently  grounded  in  the  first 
Rudiments  of  Learning.  Hence  it  is,  that  so  many  Youths 
who  have  run  thro'  all  the  Classick  Authors,  for  want  of  a 
full  and  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Grammar  Rules,  the  sole 
Basis  and  Foundation  of  all  Learning,  are  unable  to  taste 
the  Excellency  of  those  Writers,  and  entirely  incapable  of 
retaining  what  they  with  so  much  Labour  have  endeavour'd 
to  acquire;  and  therefore  generally  after  a  Year  or  two's 
Absence  from  School,  are  almost  as  far  to  seek  as  if  their 
Parents  had  not  expended  any  Thing  on  their  Education." 

"  Gilbert's  Father,  being  fully  persuaded  of  this  almost 
universal  Error  and  Corruption  in  our  English  Schools, 
resolv'd  to  send  him  over  to  the  Benedictine  monks  at 
Doway^  in  Flanders,  there  to  have  him  brought  up  in  his 
own  Religion  ;  but  notwithstanding  the  great  Disparity 
between  a  Foreign  and  English  Education  was  so  fully 
prov'd  by  several  of  Mr.  Langley's  Friends,  yet  his  wife 
(who  was  passionately  fond  of  this  her  Sqn)  could  not  by 
any  arguments  be  induced  to  a  Compliance  of  parting  with 
her  Child,  preferring  rather  the  Presence  of  her  Son  in 
Ignorance  before  his  Absence  in  a  Place  where  he  was 
sure  to  have  the  fairest  opportunity  of  acquiring  solid  and 
useful  Learning.  Thus  her  Fondness  triumph'd  over  her 
Reason,  and  she  could  not  bear  the  Thoughts  of  a  Separation 
from  her  Darling,  who  to  please  her,  tho'  to  his  own  Prejudice, 
was  continu'd  at  Home,  till  Providence,  as  a  peculiar  Mark  of 
its  Favour,  was  pleased  to  take  her  away,  and  by  that  set  aside 

43 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

the  sole  Obstacle  to  the  intended  Progress  of  our  young 
Student :  for  no  sooner  was  Mamma  dead,  and  decently 
interr'd,  but  the  Father,  earnestly  bent  on  his  Son's  Advance- 
ment, made  diligent  Search  for  a  proper  Person,  to  whom  he 
might  with  Safety  commit  the  Trust  of  his  Son,  until  he 
should  arrive  at  Doway^  the  Place  design'd  for  his  future 
Education.  Upon  Enquiry  he  found  out  Mr.  Stiirton  the 
Prior  of  the  Be?iedictme  Monks,  who  bemg  come  to  London 
about  some  particular  Business,  was  now  on  returning  to  his 
Convent ;  with  this  Gentleman  he  agreed  on  an  annual  Sum 
for  my  Board,  Learning,  and  all  other  necessary  expenses  for 
my  journey,  which  was  to  be  as  soon  as  possible.  The  Day 
being  fixed  for  our  Departure,  we  met  at  the  Cross-Keys  in 
Grace-Church-Street,  where  my  indulgent  P'ather,  with  re- 
iterated Entreaties,  sollicited  Mr.  Sturton  to  a  special  and 
peculiar  Care  of  his  young  Pupil,  and  after  he  had  tenderly 
embrac'd  me,  with  flowing  eyes,  committed  me  to  the  Manage- 
ment of  my  new  Tutor." 

Next  day  they  took  coach  to  Dover,  crossed  to  Calais,  and 
made  their  way  as  far  as  St.  Omers,  where  they  spent  a  whole 
day  looking  at  the  sights,  and  resting  there  that  night  as  the 
guests  of  the  Jesuit  fathers. 

"  The  next  Morning  we  set  out  for  Doway,  where  we  arriv'd 
in  the  Evening,  to  the  great  Satisfaction  and  Comfort  of  the 
Benedictines,  who  with  all  possible  Demonstrations  of  Joy, 
received  their  Superior,  and  (as  I  was  afterwards  inform'd) 
highly  applauded  him  for  the  due  Execution  of  his  Commis- 
sion, and  commended  his  Diligence  and  unwearied  En- 
deavours, in  encreasing  the  Number  of  the  Faithful.  I  must 
acknowledge,  that  since  I  have  been  conversant  in  the  World, 
upon  the  '  Perusual '  of  Milton,  and  my  serious  Reflection 
upon  the  Reception  of  Mr.  Sturton,  I  was  charm 'd  with 
the  beauteous  Description  of  Lucifer's  return  to  his  fallen 
Angels,  which  so  nearly  resembled,  and  form'd  in  my  Mind 

44 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

such  lively  Ideas  of  my  former  Guardian's  first  Appearance 
to  his  cloister'd  Monks,  that  to  my  dying  Day,  I  shall  re- 
tain an  indelible  Remembrance  of  that  grand  and  solemn 
Re-union." 

In  order  to  understand  better  the  enthusiasm  with  which 
the  community,  as  Langley  describes,  received  Prior  Stourton, 
it  is  useful  to  record  that  the  quahties  which  endeared  him  to 
his  subjects  marked  him  out  a  few  years  later  for  higher 
honours.  When  Cardinal  Gualterio,  who  was  Protector  of 
England,  asked  President  Southcote  to  name  some  Bene- 
dictine fathers  whom  he  considered  fit  to  succeed  Bishop 
Witham  in  the  northern  vicariate,  he  replied,  under  date 
of  February  23,  1724,  submitting  three  names,  and  it  is 
interesting  to  note  the  gradations  of  fitness.  The  original 
spelling  is  preserved.  "Pour  ce  qui  est  des  noms  de  ceux 
qu'on  souhatteroit  avancer  a  I'episcopat  pour  I'Angleterre, 
je  puis  repondre  devant  Dieu  et  les  hommes  de  la  vie, 
doctrine  et  mceurs  de  trois  sujets  de  notre  congregation 
nommement  Le  Pere  Jean  Stourton,  le  Pere  Francois  Wat- 
mough  et  le  Pere  Gregoire  Riddel.  Le  Pere  Stourton  est 
d'une  des  plus  illustres  families  d'Angleterre  dont  le  Pere 
par  sa  naissance  estoit  le  septieme  Baron  de  la  nation.  Ce 
Pere  a  este  Prieur  de  notre  Couvent  et  college  de  Douay 
et  ancien  professeur  en  Theologie,  d'une  Saintete  de  vie 
admirable.  Le  deuxieme  a  este  ancien  general  de  la  Con- 
gregation, homme  de  teste  et  d'une  vie  sans  reproche,  le 
troisieme  est  asses  connu  dans  Roma  et  grand  Theologien." 

Langley  next  proceeds  to  give  details  of  the  inner  life  of 
the  establishment,  the  horarium^  the  course  and  method  of 
studies,  and  the  recreations  indulged  in,  which  shall  all  here 
reappear  in  his  ipsissima  verba;  which,  by  the  way,  are,  for 
easy  flowing  diction,  no  bad  advertisement  for  the  school 
that  trained  him.  It  is  instructive  to  observe  how  the  small 
youth  who  had  somehow  scrambled  through  so  many  advanced 

45 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

authors  when  at  the  Charterhouse  soon  found  his  level  when 
he  came  under  the  more  conscientious  control  of  the  monks. 
The  days  of  grace  allowed  to  newcomers,  as  mentioned  by 
Langley,  lingered  on  into  the  memory  of  not  very  old  Grego- 
rians,  but,  with  so  much  else,  have  been  discontinued  within 
recent  years. 

"  At  the  Expiration  of  three  Days,  which  are  usually 
allow'd  to  young  Sparks,  to  initiate  and  instruct  themselves 
in  the  Forms  and  Precepts  of  the  Colledge,  I  was  examin'd 
by  three  Reverend  Fathers  (for  that  is  the  Title  they  assume), 
and  upon  a  strict  Examination,  was  found  capable  of  nothing 
higher  than  Alvarus's  Grammar  and  Ccesar's  Commentaries,  a 
plain  Proof  of  the  vanity  of  some  of  our  Eftglish  Schools. 
But  since  my  Readers  may  be  curious,  and  willing  to  be 
inform'd  of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  our  Collegiate 
Life,  I  shall  for  their  Satisfaction  give  a  brief  but  true 
Account  thereof.  The  annual  Salary  is  ;£"2  5  SterHng  for 
an  Elder  Brother,  and  20  Ditto  for  a  younger ;  at  our  first 
Entrance  we  are  divested  of  our  secular  Robes,  and  cloath'd 
with  a  Cassock  and  a  Gown,  resembling  in  Form  those  on 
the  Foundation  of  the  Charter  House,  which  Dress,  according 
to  the  antient  Rules  of  the  House,  is  allowed  to  each  Student 
new  every  Year.  The  Scholars  are  divided  according  to  their 
different  Abilities  and  Capacities  into  several  Classes,  each 
apart  from  one  another,  to  prevent  Noise  and  Interruption, 
and  over  each  Class  presides  a  proper  Master,  whose  Business 
is  to  instruct  his  Pupils  in  the  Knowledge  of  such  Authors 
as  he  thinks  most  proper  and  suitable  to  their  Genius  and 
Understanding.  We  are  oblig'd  to  continue  twelve  Months 
in  the  same  Study,  that  we  may  be  entirely  perfect  therein, 
and  during  that  Time,  have  Monthly  Examinations,  in  which 
the  most  perfect  is  for  his  Encouragement,  to  receive  a 
Proemium  from  the  Hands  of  the  Prior,  at  the  three  several 
Grand  Examinations,  that  are  held  before  the  whole  House, 

46 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,    1605-1793 

at  Easter,  Michaelmas,  and  Christmas,  all  (except  those  who 
are  in  the  Accidence^  are  compelled  at  all  Times,  and  upon 
all  Occasions,  under  a  certain  Penalty,  to  speak  the  Latin 
Tongue. 

"  We  have  a  large  Dormitory,  where  each  Student  has  his 
Bed  a-part,  a  Calefactory,  and  at  each  end  thereof,  a  large 
fire  Place,  tho'  but  small  allowances  of  Wood,  having  but 
one  Faggot  and  two  Billets  to  each  fire,  and  that  only  in 
the  Evening,  which  causes  some  of  our  young  Sparks,  some- 
times privately,  and  sometimes  by  open  Force,  to  break  into 
the  Wood-house,  that  stands  in  our  Area  or  Yard. 

"Our  Refectory  or  Dining-Room,  is  large  and  commodious, 
and  serv'd  with  regular  and  due  Oeconomy,  where  each 
Scholar  has  the  first  Choice  of  the  Portions  of  Meat,  accord- 
ing to  his  Superiority  in  Learning.  Our  Diet  is  Bread  and 
Butter  every  Morning,  at  Noon  half  a  Pound  of  boiled  Meat, 
with  a  Porringer  of  Broth ;  and  at  Night,  the  same  Allowance 
of  Roast  with  a  Sallad,  except  on  Days  of  Fast ;  but  at 
Meals,  we  have  as  much  Bread  and  Beer  as  we  desire,  altho' 
at  all  other  Times,  we  are  debarr'd  even  from  a  Crust  of 
Bread,  or  a  Draught  of  Beer,  which  makes  us  frequently 
convey  out  the  same  under  our  Cassocks,  and  sometimes, 
like  ravenous  Wolves,  to  make  bold  Incursions  into  the 
Kitchen,  and  there  plunder  and  carry  away  all  we  can  meet 
with ;  but  of  this  more  hereafter.  Over  the  Students,  which 
are  never  less  than  fifty  or  three  score,  a  Prefect  is  appointed 
by  the  Prior,  who  ought  to  be  a  Person  of  great  Sagacity  and 
Discretion,  for  to  his  Care  the  Direction  of  all  the  Scholars 
(when  out  of  their  respective  Schools)  is  committed;  he 
hears  all  Debates,  settles  all  Controversies,  and  appeases  all 
Animosities  that  arise  amongst  his  Pupils ;  his  Business  is  to 
call  them  up  at  five  in  the  Morning,  as  well  in  the  Winter 
as  in  the  Summer,  he  rings  the  Bell  to  Prayers,  at  their  Meals 
says  Grace,  and  orders  one  of  the  Scholars  in   his  Turn  to 

47 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

mount  the  Rostrum  or  Pulpit,  and  read  the  Martyrology, 
during  the  Time  of  Repast,  whilst  he  himself  stands  at  the 
upper  End  of  the  Refectory  to  keep  Silence,  and  prevent 
any  Confusion  or  Irregularities,  that  might  otherwise  happen 
amongst  such  a  Number  of  Boys.  Hours  of  Study  are  from 
Five  till  half  an  Hour  after  Seven ;  the  other  half  Hour  being 
allow'd  for  washing  and  breakfast  'lime;  at  Eight  we  go  to 
School,  at  Eleven  to  Prayers,  at  Noon  to  Dinner,  at  One  to 
Study,  at  Two  to  School,  at  half  an  Hour  after  Four  to  Play, 
at  Five  to  Study,  at  Six  to  Supper,  and  afterwards  to  Play  if 
in  the  Summer  Time,  or  in  the  Winter  to  our  respective  Seats 
in  the  Calefactory.  None  dares  presume  to  go  into  the 
Town  without  the  Prefect's  Leave.  We  have  a  capacious 
Area  or  Yard,  wherein  is  a  Terras  Walk,  and  a  Place  very 
suitable  and  proper  for  the  Exercise  of  Hand-Ball,  in  which 
we  with  great  Emulation,  strove  to  surpass  each  other." 

No  one  in  these  degenerate  days  will  deny  that  this  was  a 
Spartan  regime :  eleven  and  a  half  hours  from  the  time  of 
rising  before  any  recreation  would  try  the  hardiest  of  us. 
The  bill  of  fare,  though  wholesome  and  plentiful,  as  Langley 
admits,  yet  left  corners  unfilled ;  nor  can  this  be  wondered  at, 
if  we  consider  the  hard  work  and  the  long  intervals  between 
meals.  A  modicum  of  time  was  allotted  to  toilette  and  break- 
fast, but  a  full  hour  for  prayer  before  noon  needs  explana- 
tion. It  sounds  very  like  attendance  at  daily  conventual 
mass,  sung;  and  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  hour  seems  a 
very  late  one  for  other  than  festival  days;  but  as  Langley 
makes  no  mention  of  early  mass,  this  seems  the  only  possible 
explanation. 

The  even  tenor  of  scholastic  life  was  unbroken  at  Douay 
by  anything  more  serious  than  a  legal  contest  with  a  local 
ecclesiastic  on  a  technical  matter  which  concerned  the  boys. 
The  episode  may  be  dismissed  in  a  few  words.  The  English 
monks,  amid  strangers  in  a  foreign  land,  wisely  kept  entirely 


HOUSE    CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

to  themselves,  walking  inoffenso  pede,  meddling  and  interfering 
neither  with  custom  nor  with  person,  remembering  that  they 
were  merely  the  guests  of  Flanders  or  France,  and  therefore 
holding  themselves  aloof  from  any  attempt  to  foist  their  own 
ideas  or  practices  upon  those  in  whose  midst  they  dwelt.  The 
happy  result  followed  that  they  lived  in  complete  amity  and 
harmony  with  the  authorities,  both  lay  and  ecclesiastical,  of 
Douay  and  Flanders  for  nearly  a  hundred  years.  Early  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  a  new  cure  named  Marcel  was  inducted 
into  the  parish  of  St.  Albin,  in  which  St.  Gregory's  was  situated. 
Not  content  with  the  arrangements  unreservedly  accepted  by 
his  predecessors.  Abbe  Marcel  impugned  the  privileges  en- 
joyed for  so  long  a  series  of  years,  and  claimed  jurisdiction 
over  the  boys  of  St.  Gregory's  School  and  the  dependants 
of  the  monastery.  He  formally  inhibited  the  monks  from 
attempting  to  hear  the  confessions  of  their  pupils,  and 
cited  all  the  boys  to  fulfil  their  Easter  duties  in  the  parish 
church,  further  citing  defaulters  to  appear  before  the  diocesan 
to  shew  cause  why,  &c.,  &c.  This  demand  was  resisted,  and 
much  ink  was  spilt  and  good  money  wasted  over  legal  fees 
and  such-like  expenses,  before  finally  a  decree  was  issued  in 
1723  confirming  the  Enghsh  Benedictines  and  those  depend- 
ent on  them  in  their  exemption  from  this  ecclesiastic's  claim. 
Though  the  dispute  ended  only  as  might  have  been  expected, 
yet  it  was  a  cause  of  endless  worry  while  it  lasted,  and  formed 
the  only  exception  to  the  uniform  goodwill  that  subsisted 
between  the  English  and  their  kindly  hosts  of  Douay.  The 
episode  was  productive  of  nothing  further  than  a  clearer  de- 
finition of  the  position  occupied  by  and  accorded  to  St. 
Gregory's,  and  left  no  further  trace  behind  it.  The  whole 
incident  may  scarcely  have  deserved  mention,  but  that  it  so 
curiously  resembles  a  dispute  which  occurred  just  a  century 
later,  after  St.  Gregory's  had  been  settled  at  Downside. 

A  few  years  later,  in  1736,  a  pleasant  picture  of  St.  Gregory's 
49  D 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

is  obtained  from  a  French  source.  The  monks  had  under- 
taken, by  the  terms  of  Abbot  Caverel's  charter,  the  obHgation 
of  reciting  daily  the  Office  of  B.V.M.,  in  addition  to  their 
solemn  daily  performance  of  the  Divine  Office.  In  the  de- 
crease of  numbers  and  the  increase  of  duties  this  became 
burthensome,  while  it  was  not  essentially  necessary.  After 
the  Gregorian  monks  had  made  repeated  petitions  to  the 
authorities  of  St.  Vaast's  at  Arras  to  be  allowed  to  divest  them- 
selves of  this  obHgation.  Dom  Desvignes,  then  Grand  Prior  of 
Arras,  deputed  the  Abbot  of  St.  Andrew's  in  Cateau  Cambresis, 
to  visit  St.  Gregory's  and  report  on  the  matter.  In  his  state- 
ment, dated  June  i6,  1736,  he  says  that  he  favours  a  mitigation 
or  commutation  of  Abbot  Caverel's  arrangement  about  the 
Office  of  B.V.M.,  because  the  strength  of  the  English  monks 
was  altogether  overtaxed;  for,  notwithstanding  the  length  of 
time  occupied  in  the  performance  of  the  Divine  Office,  they 
had  not  only  to  pursue  their  own  studies,  but  also  to  teach 
humanities.  He  added  that  his  visit  had  given  him  great 
satisfaction  because  of  the  good  order  reigning  throughout  the 
establishment.  The  community,  though  small  in  numbers, 
was  earnest,  and  every  one  willing  and  hardworking.  He 
then  proceeds :  "  J'y  ai  trouve  aussi  une  belle  jeunesse 
d'^tudients,  plusieurs  fils  aisne's,  heritiers  de  biens  consider- 
ables et  s'avan^ant  bien  dans  leurs  etudes.  J'y  ay  ordonn^ 
de  leur  donner  des  maitres  pour  leur  apprendre  la  langue 
fran^oise,  I'arethmetique,  et  la  geographic."  (I  found  there 
a  fine  set  of  young  scholars,  several  of  them  eldest  sons  and 
heirs  to  considerable  property,  all  getting  on  well  with  their 
studies.  I  directed  that  they  should  be  given  masters  to 
teach  them  French,  arithmetic,  and  geography.) 

In  the  course  of  its  history,  St.  Gregory's  has  had  far  greater 
cause  for  anxiety  than  any  arising  from  a  dispute  with  neigh- 
bouring clergy,  for  the  peaceful  study  of  the  classics  was  more 
than  once  disturbed  by  the  excursions  and  alarums  of  war. 

50 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

The  boys  and  their  masters  were  forced  to  feel  the  effects  of 
the  stirring  times  in  which  they  Uved. 

The  siege  of  Douay  by  Louis  XIV.,  in  1667,  brought  out  the 
peaceful  monks  and  their  young  charges  in  a  new  character. 
On  account  of  the  smallness  of  the  garrison,  the  inhabitants, 
the  professors  of  the  university,  and  even  the  clergy  were 
armed,  and  posts  were  assigned  them  on  the  ramparts  of 
the  town.  The  different  posts  and  the  individuals  told  off  to 
each  are  printed  at  length  in  the  Chroniques  de  Douat,  and 
from  No.  5  (vol.  ii.  p.  356)  we  may  learn  the  duties  assigned 
to  St.  Gregory's.  "  The  company  of  William  Caudron  was 
destined  to  defend  the  '  Porte  d'Ocre,'  with  the  Dominicans, 
the  professors  and  students  of  St.  Vaast,  the  English  Bene- 
dictines, and  the  religious  of  Furnes."  On  July  i,  1667, 
between  nine  and  ten  in  the  morning,  the  French  army  in- 
vested the  town,  and  all  were  ordered  to  their  posts.  On  the 
5  th,  the  king  summoned  the  magistrates  to  surrender,  and 
the  next  day  they  capitulated.  Dom  Benet  Weldon  is  our 
authority  for  stating  that  the  king  entered  the  city  on  the  7th, 
when  "  he  did  our  fathers  the  honour  to  hear  mass  in  our 
church,  when  some  one  boldly  laid  on  his  prie-dieu  the 
famous  book  written  against  benefices  given  in  commendam  ; 
but  Fr.  Hitchcock  (who  was  then  prior)  was  adroit  enough  to 
get  the  book  away  before  the  king  came."  The  copy  is  still 
at  St.  Gregory's. 

Early  in  the  next  century  the  French  had  bitter  cause  to 
remember  that  occasionally  Marlbroucque  s'en  va-t-en  guerre^ 
and  Douay  was  again  besieged.  The  allies  under  Marl- 
borough began  the  investment  on  April  22,  17 10,  and 
planted  their  chief  batteries  so  close  to  St.  Gregory's  that 
the  inmates  were  fully  exposed  to  the  fire  of  their  own 
countrymen.  When  the  investment  was  perceived  to  be 
inevitable,  Weldon  states  that  some  of  the  monks  "  shel- 
tered themselves  as  they  could  in  the  neighbouring  monas- 

51 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

teries  :  the  rest,  with  the  prior  (D.  Cuthbert  Tatham) 
abided  the  siege.  R.  F.  Pullein  took  their  boys  with  him 
to  Cambray,  that  from  thence  he  might  get  to  speak  to  the 
Duke  of  Marlborough,  who  received  him  very  civilly,  and 
promised  he  would  favour  the  house."  It  is  also  from  Weldon's 
pages  that  we  learn  that  D.  Michael  Pullein  was  assured  by 
the  great  duke  that  he  had  received  special  instructions  from 
Queen  Anne  herself  on  the  subject  of  their  protection,  and 
the  result  proved  that  the  house  was  more  frightened  than 
hurt.  Though  this  intervention  on  the  part  of  Queen  Anne 
is  intelligible,  the  grace  and  thoughtfulness  of  the  unsolicited 
interposition  should  endear  the  memory  of  the  queen  to 
Gregorians.  It  was  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  her  much- 
injured  father,  James  II.  This  unfortunate  monarch  during 
his  exile  at  St.  Germain's  frequently  visited  the  English  Bene- 
dictines of  St.  Edmund's  Monastery  in  the  Rue  St.  Jacques 
at  Paris,  with  whom  he  was  on  intimate  and  friendly  terms. 
This  was  known  to  his  daughter,  who,  not  discriminating 
between  one  house  and  another,  would  be  well  disposed  to  the 
body  that  had  been  staunch  to  her  father.  Both  St.  Gregory's 
and  St.  Lawrence's  incurred  much  expense  in  entertaining 
English  and  Scottish  officers  and  soldiers  passing  between 
England  and  Marlborough's  armies  in  the  field.  These 
things  were  known  at  home,  and  Queen  Anne's  heart  warmed 
to  her  subjects  exiled  for  conscience'  sake,  and,  when  the 
opportunity  presented  itself,  she  shewed  her  solicitude  for 
their  welfare  in  a  manner  pecuharly  gracious.  It  is  also  on 
record  that  two  of  the  monks  of  St.  Vaast,  resident  in  their 
moiety  of  the  building,  not  only  went  to  Prince  Eugene  and 
Marlborough  with  letters  of  recommendation,  but  also  con- 
trived to  visit  the  besieging  batteries  which  menaced  the  dual 
establishment.  As  the  memoir  of  these  events  has  it :  "  Dom 
Hurtrel  addressed  himself  to  an  artilleryman  from  Mons,  and 
begged  him  to  spare  the  two  colleges,  which  were  in  full  view, 

52 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

and  which  he  pointed  out.  On  the  man's  promise,  D.  Hurtrel 
wrote  in  the  trenches  a  note,  by  which  he  engaged  to  pay  this 
man  and  his  company  a  certain  sum  if  he  kept  his  word."  It 
is  almost  superfluous  to  chronicle  that  with  such  an  incentive 
"the  artilleryman  kept  his  word,  and,  when  the  town  was 
taken,  he  went  to  the  college  and  presented  the  note  to  the 
regent,  who  paid  him  on  the  spot.  In  fact,  during  all  the 
siege  (over  two  months)  neither  ball  nor  shell  touched  either 
college,  except  when  they  were  destroying  the  steeple  of  St. 
Albin's.  Then  the  college,  which  was  behind  the  church, 
received  a  few  balls."  Thus,  by  a  judiciously  expended 
insurance  premium,  as  it  might  be  called,  St.  Gregory's  was 
saved  what  might  otherwise  have  proved  a  ruinous  outlay  on 
repairs. 

From  this  time  onward,  very  little  is  heard  of  the  school  till 
the  priorship  of  Dom  Augustine  Moore,  one  of  the  family  of 
the  Moores  of  Fawley,  Berks,  whose  memory  is  preserved  to 
later  generations  of  Gregorians  as  the  patron  of  Faboulier, 
and  who  did  much  during  his  term  of  office  to  enhance  the 
solemnity  of  the  Liturgy  by  the  music  so  well  known  to  us 
in  the  Offices  of  the  Dead  and  of  Tenebrae,  and  in  various 
masses  named  after  the  ancient  cathedral  priories  of  England. 
For  twenty  years,  from  1755  to  1775,  Prior  Moore  ruled 
over  the  destinies  of  St.  Gregory's,  and  died  at  his  post. 
During  his  term  of  office  the  original  buildings,  as  erected 
and  endowed  by  Abbot  Caverel,  though  they  had  been 
constantly  repaired  and  renovated,  began  to  shew  evident 
signs  of  collapse,  and  the  taking  of  some  immediate  steps 
became  pressing.  Further  outlay  on  the  school  buildings 
as  they  stood  would  merely  be  wasted ;  the  cheapest  course 
would  be  to  rebuild  them  entirely.  Moreover,  suitable 
accommodation  would  have  to  be  provided  if  they  were  to 
retain  the  class  of  boy  that  frequented  the  school.  Accord- 
ingly, after  much  deliberation,  the  Prior  and  Community  of 

53 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

St.  Gregory's  resolved  to  petition  the  Abbot  of  Arras  for 
permission  to  build,  and  also  to  beg  for  substantial  help  from 
the  same  quarter  towards  the  expenses.  They  had  an  assured 
hope,  founded  on  the  generosity  shewn  them  for  more  than  a 
century  and  a  half,  that  they  would  not  appeal  in  vain,  nor 
were  they  disappointed. 

In  the  Arras  archives  may  still  be  seen  the  petition  of  the 
Prior  and  Community  of  Douay  to  the  Abbot  and  Com- 
munity of  St.  Vaast  at  Arras,  of  which  the  translation  is  as 
follows : — 

"  To  the  Revv.  the  Abbot  and  Religious  of  the  Abbey  Royal 
of  St.   Vaast  at  Arras. 

"  The  prior  and  religious  of  the  English  Benedictines  of 
the  city  of  Douay  have  the  honour  of  representing  to  you, 
Revv.  sirs,  that  the  welfare  of  religion  induced  the  pious 
Abbot  de  Caverel  to  found  for  them  the  college  which  they 
occupy;  and  that  his  successors,  animated  by  the  same  zeal, 
made  a  point  of  maintaining  this  establishment,  not  only  by 
the  annual  pension  which  has  been  paid  since  then,  but  also 
by  undertaking  the  repair  of  the  buildings. 

"Notwithstanding  these  repairs,  the  buildings  have  fallen 
into  such  a  state  of  dilapidation  from  old  age  as  to  demand 
their  complete  reconstruction,  and  a  continuation  of  the  effects 
of  your  benevolence. 

"  The  progress  of  this  college  and  the  increase  in  the  number 
of  the  students,  which  instruction  in  the  truths  of  religion,  in 
virtue,  and  in  the  sciences  attract  here,  require  buildings  suit- 
able for  housing  them  and  accommodated  to  their  number. 

"To  fulfil  this  object  and  also  that  of  the  propagation  of 
the  faith,  your  petitioners  propose  to  erect  a  building  of  two 
storeys,  of  about  eighty  or  ninety  feet  in  length  and  twenty- 
nine  feet  in  depth,  of  which  they  have  the  honour  of  present- 
ing you  a  plan. 

54 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,    1605-1793 

"They  can,  however,  neither  complete  nor  commence  this 
work  without  your  help  and  co-operation,  which  they  earnestly 
hope  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  afford  them ;  the  offerings 
which  the  Catholics  in  England  have  made  towards  this  pur- 
pose do  not  suffice  for  carrying  it  out. 

"They  look  for  your  consent  and  for  this  help  with  the 
greater  confidence,  inasmuch  as  it  is  in  order  to  replace 
buildings  dilapidated  by  time :  to  preserve  an  establishment 
which  owes  its  origin  to  your  piety  and  to  your  care  for  the 
interests  of  religion  :  to  put  the  motives  of  your  Uberality 
into  full  activity ;  and  to  perpetuate  a  foundation  which  shall 
be  a  perennial  monument  of  your  benevolence  towards  your 
exiled  brethren. 

"This  favour  would  increase  our  gratitude  were  it  not 
already  infinite.  We  beg  you  then,  sirs,  to  grant  our  request, 
and  to  accept  anew  the  promise  we  make  that  we  shall  pray 
for  your  health  and  prosperity,  and  the  assurance  of  the 
respectful  attachment  with  which  we  are,  Revv.  sirs,  your 
very  humble  and  obedient  servants, 

(Signed)     "  Dom  Moore,  Prior. 

"  Dom  Sharrock,  Vice-Secretary. 
"DouAY,  November  21,  1769." 

This  document  is  indorsed  on  the  first  page  with  the  wel- 
come statement : — 

"  Le  Chapitre  de  I'Abbaye  de  St.  Vaast  d' Arras  permet  aux 
Reverends  Peres  du  Couvent  de  St.  Gregoire  a  Douay  de 
batir  leur  nouveau  College  sur  le  terrain  dont  il  est  parle  dans 
cette  requete. 

"Ilestainsi,  D.  A.   Y>^^^KXi\2^^  Secretaire. 

"Ce  23  Dec,  1769." 

These  indorsements  certify  that  the  need  really  existed, 
and    that  the   Arras  monks  had    satisfied  themselves  of  it; 

55 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

for  they  by  no  means  invariably  granted  the  requests  made 
of  them  by  their  Douay  proteges.  Though  the  actual  en- 
joyment of  their  constant  benefactions  to  us  has  been  swept 
away  in  the  whirlpool  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  though 
the  Arras  community  itself  disappeared  in  the  same  cata- 
clysm, yet  the  lively  sense  of  gratitude  towards  these  bene- 
factors of  the  past  will  never  be  permitted  to  die  out  so  long 
as  St.  Gregory's  shall  last. 

The  Douay  community  proceeded  to  raise  additional  funds 
by  means  of  collections  made  in  England  during  the  year 
1769  ;  and,  as  a  book  of  benefactors  preserved  in  the  Down- 
side archives  shews,  the  numerous  friends  of  the  house,  when 
thus  appealed  to,  freely  and  generously  responded,  so  that 
early  in  the  year  1770  the  prior  and  his  council  were  in  a 
position  to  justify  them  in  commencing  building  operations. 
Accordingly,  on  February  10,  they  drew  up  a  formal  docu- 
ment, undertaking  to  comply  with  the  conditions  attached  to 
their  acceptance  of  5500  livres  (equivalent  in  our  money  to 
about  ;£"48oo)  from  St.  Vaast  towards  the  new  edifice. 

The  document  contains  precise  details  regarding  the  posi- 
tion of  certain  parts  of  the  school  buildings  as  then  existing, 
and  from  it  we  learn  that  there  was  a  small  block,  situated  at 
the  angle  formed  by  the  Rue  St.  Albin  and  the  Rue  St.  Benoit, 
set  apart  for  class-rooms,  and  another  running  from  the  back 
of  the  main  front,  parallel  with  the  Rue  St.  Albin,  which  was 
reserved  for  the  use  of  the  sodality. 

The  main  condition  provided  that  for  the  future  the  Arras 
community  were  no  longer  to  be  held  liable  for  repairs  as 
hitherto ;  nevertheless,  their  permission  would  have  to  be 
obtained  for  future  rebuilding  as  distinct  from  repairs. 

When  the  handsome  donation  from  Arras  had  been  received. 
Prior  Moore  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Abbot  of  Arras  expressive  of 
the  gratitude  of  the  Douay  fathers,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  translation  : — 

56 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

"DOUAY,  February  i6,  1770. 
"Sir, — Since  I  had  the  honour  of  seeing  you  at  your 
abbey,  I  have  been  obliged  to  make  another  journey;  and 
the  engagements  of  our  president  have  not  permitted  of  his 
coming  here  till  the  last  few  days.  This  will  explain  why 
I  have  not  been  able  up  to  now  to  thank  you  for  all  the  good- 
ness you  have  shewn  us,  and  to  acquaint  you  with  the  sense 
of  gratitude  with  which  Monseigneur  the  Bishop  of  Niba 
(Lawrence  York),  our  president,  and  the  entire  community 
here  are  filled,  on  account  of  the  promptitude  and  alacrity 
which  your  benevolence  has  shewn  for  the  preservation  of  our 
establishment  in  the  necessity  in  which  we  find  ourselves  of 
rebuilding  our  college.  Permit  me  the  honour,  therefore,  of 
assuring  you  of  the  testimony  of  gratitude  which  will  be  yours 
not  only  from  us,  but  from  those  who  will  follow  us  in  ages 
yet  to  come.  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  profound 
respect,  sir,  your  very  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)     "  Dom  Moore." 

Nothing  now  prevented  an  immediate  start  upon  the  work 
of  rebuilding,  and  a  Mons.  Merville,  an  architect  of  Douay, 
was  instructed  to  draw  out  plans.  His  labours  resulted  in  the 
block  that  stands  to  this  day,  now  occupied  by  the  com- 
munity of  St.  Edmund's,  previous  to  the  French  Revolution 
at  Paris,  and  by  the  school  conducted  by  them.  M.  Merville's 
elevation  with  an  alternative  sketch  for  the  central  bay,  sur- 
vives in  the  archives  at  Downside.  It  is  a  plain,  solid 
structure  of  red  brick,  with  stone  dressings,  in  the  free  classic 
style  in  fashion  at  the  period,  containing  four  storeys  and 
dormers  in  the  roof,  each  floor  shewing  nineteen  windows. 
The  estimated  cost  was  43,322  livres,  or  about  ^^38,000. 
All  preliminaries  were  satisfactorily  arranged,  and  on  the  feast 
of  St.  George,  the  patron  of  England,  April  23,  1770,  the 
foundation-stone  was   laid   by   the  dowager  Lady  Stourton. 

57 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

The  stone  was  placed  some  height  from  the  ground,  behind 
the  oak  wainscot  panelling  of  a  staircase ;  and  through  a 
small  door  covering  an  aperture  the  inscription  upon  it  may 
be  inspected.  The  stone  was  plastered  over,  and  the  in- 
scription roughly  traced  on  this  uneven  surface.  It  reads 
as  follows  : — 

PRAENOBILIS 

?????? 

STOURTON  MAG: 

BRIT:    BARONISSA    HUJUS 

AEDIFICII    LAPIDEM 

FUNDAMENTALEM 

POSUIT   DIE   23  APRIL: 

ANNO   DNI    1770 

The  second  line  is  illegible ;  but  the  venerable  lady  is  said  to 
have  been  Catherine  Walmesley,  the  sister  of  Bishop  Walmesley 
and  Dom  Peter  Walmesley,  who  married  Robert,  Lord  Petre, 
in  1712,  and  several  years  later.  Charles,  Lord  Stourton. 
Her  portrait  is  in  the  possession  of  Mdme.  la  Marquise  de 
Lys,  of  Little  Malvern. 

As  soon  as  the  work  was  actually  begun,  the  abbey  of 
Arras  fulfilled  its  part  in  the  transaction,  and  documents  in 
the  town  archives  of  Arras  shew  both  the  reception  on  May  3 
of  the  sum  of  5500  livres  by  Dom  Gregory  Sharrock,  then 
Procurator  of  Douay,  and  the  corresponding  obligations 
whereby  the  Douay  fathers  had  bound  themselves  and  their 
successors  by  capitular  act  of  February  10,  both  of  the  same 
year.  The  building  did  not  progress  very  rapidly,  for  in  an 
inventory  for  the  presidential  visitation  in  April  1772  (two 
years  later),  under  the  sub-heading  of  "  materials  for  the  new 
building,"  mention  is  made  of  stores  of  timber  and  stone, 
two  carts,  a  bolter,  planks,  tubs,  wheelbarrows,  slates,  &c., 
&c. 

Nor  was  it  completed  till  long  after  that  date.  By  an 
Ordonnance  of  January  12,  1738,  no  one  under  the  laws  of 

58 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

mortmain  could  erect  any  building  without  first  submitting 
the  plans  for  the  approval  of  the  intendant  or  governor  of 
the  district.  How  Mons.  Merville  neglected  compliance  with 
this  regulation,  or  how  the  school  authorities  came  to  be 
totally  unaware  of  its  existence  is  a  mystery.  The  irregularity 
was  only  discovered  in  1776,  and  the  usual  legal  proceedings 
were  at  once  instituted  to  inhibit  them  from  continuing  the 
work.  The  prior  took  the  necessary  steps  to  rectify  the 
mistake;  the  plans  were  duly  submitted  to  the  intendant, 
and  everything  having  been  satisfactorily  explained  and  official 
dignity  mollified,  the  English  monks  were  acquitted  of  all 
pains  and  penalties  they  might  have  unwittingly  incurred ; 
and,  as  the  document  now  in  the  Downside  archives  informs 
us,  the  plans  were  passed  by  M.  Caumartin  on  August  19, 
1776,  and  permission  to  build,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  to 
proceed  with  the  building,  was  granted  by  the  public  authori- 
ties of  Artois.  Even  so,  the  work  could  not  have  been 
pushed  on  very  vigorously,  for  a  letter  from  Prior  Gregory 
Sharrock  to  the  president,  Dom  Augustine  Walker,  dated 
July  lo,  1777,  states  that :  "  .  .  .  Our  work  has  gone  on  pros- 
perously, and  we  are,  thank  God,  drawing  towards  an  end  for 
the  shell.  The  bricklayers  are  finishing  the  chimneys ;  the 
carpenters  have  placed  the  greatest  part  of  the  roof  timber, 
and  the  slaters  have  begun.  .  .  .  We  are  under  great  diffi- 
culties on  another  side.  Our  house  is  so  low  in  people  that 
we  have  not  a  sufficient  choice  of  masters,  which  must  oblige 
us  to  shut  up  the  school,  unless  assistance  can  be  given 
from  some  other  quarter.  Other  superiors  also  want  their 
promising  subjects,  and  no  indifferent  ones  can  answer  our 
purpose.  I  must  endeavour  to  procure  some  relief  at  the 
chapter.  I  have  just  received  a  very  friendly  letter  from  Sir 
Edward  Smythe's  son,  who  tells  me  his  father  is  extremely 
desirous  of  our  welfare,  and  considers  our  college  as  very 
essential  to  the  mission,   not  merely  as  procuring  a  supply 

59 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

of  priests,  but  as  forming  the  minds  of  young  gentlemen  to 
virtue  and  learning.  ..." 

The  last  paragraph  shews  that  the  keen  interest  evinced 
by  Sir  Edward  Smythe  for  the  welfare  of  St.  Gregory's  on  its 
expulsion  from  Douay  in  1793  was  not  merely  pity  and  com- 
passion for  our  misfortunes,  but  a  lively  affection  for  the  house 
and  community,  of  long  standing  and  tried  worth. 

Writing  a  few  months  later,  on  April  21,  1778,  to  the  same 
correspondent,  the  prior  remarked  that :''...  On  the  whole, 
I  think  of  carrying  on  our  work  briskly,  and  making  the  rest 
of  the  new  house  habitable  as  expeditiously  as  I  can.  Much 
remains  yet  to  be  done." 

The  common  saying  has  become  almost  a  truism,  that 
when  once  people  begin  to  dabble  in  bricks  and  mortar  they 
are  seized  by  a  sort  of  building  fever.  One  thing  leads  to 
another.  An  open  ambulacrum  to  allow  of  exercise  in  wet 
weather  was  no  sooner  suggested  than  its  desirability  forced 
itself  on  the  minds  of  all,  and  its  erection  was  decided  upon. 
Taught  caution  by  experience,  they  did  not  fail  on  this 
occasion  to  apply  to  the  public  authorities  for  the  necessary 
approval  and  permission.  Their  application  was  made  on 
April  22,  1780,  and  was  granted  in  due  form  on  April  28 
following,  as  appears  from  the  original  documents  now  at 
Downside.  The  addition  referred  to  is  the  well-known 
"piazza,"  a  feature  of  the  Douay  of  to-day,  and  plainly  dis- 
cernible in  the  sketch  of  old  St.  Gregory's  taken  about  1789. 
The  precise  description  given  of  it  is  :  "  The  proposed  colon- 
nade, or  covered  walk,  along  the  wall  which  bounded  their 
property  on  the  Rue  St.  Albin  to  the  corner  of  the  Rue  des 
Benedictins,  according  to  the  plan  submitted,"  and  was  "  de- 
stined to  shelter  the  pupils  in  bad  weather  during  their 
games,  principally  the  j'eu  depaume,  or  tennis." 

Prior  Moore  had  died  in  1775,  and  had  been  succeeded 
by  Dom  Gregory  Sharrock.     The  school  was  in  a  flourishing 

60 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

condition  both  as  to  numbers  and  reputation.  Prior  Sharrock 
had  entered  on  a  legacy  of  expansion  that  should  have  been 
provided  for  only  on  a  well-grounded  hope  of  continued 
success,  and  the  outlook  appeared  to  justify  such  an  ex- 
pectation. Nevertheless,  these  hopes  and  expectations  were 
destined  to  be  speedily  dashed  to  the  ground. 

By  the  year  1781  the  rebuilding  was  completed.  But  by 
that  date  also,  a  new  policy  had  been  inaugurated  which,  while 
originally  intended  to  deal  exclusively  with  the  interests  of 
the  monks  in  the  various  labours  undertaken  by  the  English 
congregation,  soon  told  adversely  on  the  fortunes  of  St. 
Gregory's  lay  school.  A  scheme  had  been  put  forward  in 
1765,  the  main  object  of  which  was  to  effect  the  separation  oi 
the  different  works  which  all  the  houses  alike  were  interested 
in,  apportioning  the  care  of  different  undertakings  to  special 
houses.  Though  the  details  of  this  scheme  had  not  been 
fully  carried  out,  some,  at  least,  of  the  ideas  it  embodied 
were  to  a  certain  extent  realised ;  for  by  an  arrangement 
entered  into  between  Prior  Gregory  Sharrock  and  the  presi- 
dent, Dom  Augustine  Walker,  St.  Gregory's  became,  in  the 
summer  of  1779,  the  general  house  of  the  congregation  for 
the  training  of  the  postulants,  novices,  and  junior  monks  of 
all  the  houses,  Lambspring  excepted.  At  the  same  time,  it 
was  decided  that  the  school  where  the  youths  should  be 
sent  who  were  being  educated  on  the  funds  of  the  various 
houses  with  a  view  to  their  becoming  monks  in  due  course, 
either  in  St.  Gregory's  at  Douay,  St.  Edmund's  at  Paris,  and 
St.  Lawrence's  at  Dieulouard,  should  be  constituted  at  the 
latter  place.  This  meant  the  removal  to  Dieulouard  of  the 
boys  who  were  being  supported  at  Douay  on  Abbot  Caverel's 
burses ;  but,  of  course,  the  measure  did  not  specifically  touch 
the  purely  lay  element.  Indirectly,  the  new  plan  had  a  de- 
cided effect  on  the  fortunes  of  the  lay  school,  though  its 
members  far  outnumbered  the  ecclesiastical  students.     The 

61 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

agreement  in  question,  which  appears  to  have  been  made 
between  the  president  and  Prior  Gregory  Sharrock  without 
due  consultation  with  the  members  of  the  latter's  house, 
evidently  met  with  some  opposition;  for  writing  on  January  lo, 
1778,  Prior  Sharrock  informed  the  president  that:  "Many  in 
the  congregation  lament  that  we  have  not  the  general  good  at 
heart,  and  that  the  different  parts  which  compose  one  body 
are  almost  enemies  to  each  other.  ..."  A  perusal  of  the 
letters  belonging  to  the  period  referred  to  would  hardly 
substantiate  this  sweeping  charge  of  a  want  of  fraternal 
charity ;  but  it  would  prove  that  all  did  not  entertain  pre- 
cisely the  same  idea  of  what  was  for  the  "general  good": 
hence,  opposition  was  certamiy  and  rightly  offered  to  a 
scheme  which  went  far  in  the  direction  of  upsetting  the 
arrangements  that  had  worked  smoothly,  and,  on  the  whole, 
well,  for  150  years.  Prior  Sharrock  had,  at  least,  the  courage 
of  his  convictions,  and  displayed  a  certain  keenness  in  push- 
ing his  idea  of  founding  a  common  alumnate  for  the  entire 
congregation ;  and  the  prospect  of  acquiring  St.  Omers  which 
presented  itself  about  this  time,  seemed  to  him  a  favourable 
moment  for  urging  that  scheme.  The  following  letter  will 
explain  the  situation  : — 

Prior  G.  Sharrock  to  President  Walker. 

''Aprils,  1778. 
"...  A  singular  piece  of  business  makes  me  address  you 
at  present.  A  person  in  ofifice  inquires  (as  you  will  see  by  a 
letter  which  I  received  this  morning  from  the  Grand  Prior 
of  St.  Vaast's,  of  which  I  send  you  a  copy),  whether  we 
would  accept  the  English  college  of  St.  Omer.  I  would 
not  venture  to  decide  a  point  which  appears  to  belong  to 
you.  We  are  far  advanced  in  the  building  of  our  new  house, 
few  in  number,  solidly  settled  in  peaceable  possession.  These 
and  other  considerations  weigh  against  accepting  it.     Besides, 

62 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,   1605-1793 

a  quarrel  with  the  clergy  might  ensue.  What  might  be  the 
motive  of  such  a  proposal  I  cannot  conceive.  Is  the  clergy 
willing  to  give  it  up  ?  or  is  the  king  displeased  with  the 
present  tenants,  and  resolved  to  expel  them?  In  either  case, 
if  the  king  would  convert  the  revenues  into  foundations  here, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  English  mission,  it  would  be  preferable 
for  us.  The  college  of  St.  Omer  might  be  desirable  in 
certain  circumstances,  but  at  present  may  be  really  otherwise. 
If  you  think  the  matter  deserves  reflection,  I  fancy  time  may 
be  allowed  ..."  Writing  again  a  few  days  later,  on  April  21, 
the  prior  said :  "  I  think  the  ministry  will  scarcely  make  it 
worth  our  while  to  accept  the  college  of  St.  Omer.  I  have 
mentioned  it  to  nobody  here,  except  D.  Peter  [Walmesley], 
and  should  be  very  sorry  the  business  should  transpire,  for 
the  clergy  might  be  tempted  to  suspect  us  of  clandestine  pro- 
ceedings against  them.  Though  the  court  should  endeavour 
to  content  them  and  justify  us,  such  endeavour  may  not 
succeed.  .  .  .  Our  houses  appear  too  little  united :  each 
confines  its  views  too  much.  ..." 

Prior  Sharrock's  contribution  to  the  realisation  of  his  dream 
of  expansion  of  views  amongst  the  English  Benedictines  was 
the  suggestion  for  the  suppression  of  "  all  distinction  of  houses," 
but  such  a  principle  was  out  of  harmony  with  the  whole  spirit 
of  St.  Benedict's  organisation,  and  was  doomed  to  failure 
from  the  first.  The  less  drastic  plan,  as  already  outlined,  was 
adopted  in  its  stead,  and  will  doubtless  account  in  a  large 
measure  for  that  falling  off  in  the  number  of  the  lay  boys, 
which  Prior  Sharrock  himself  pointed  out  in  his  letter  to 
President  Walker,  dated  July  6,  1778:  "...  Our  scholars 
will  diminish  greatly  this  year,  and  tho'  the  greatest  part  leaves 
us  according  to  the  common  course,  yet  as  Ma'-  Berkeley  and 
one  of  the  Fitzherberts  are  sent  to  Liege,  I  should  not  be  sur- 
prised if  many  reports  were  spread  about  England  and  else- 
where to   our  disadvantage.     We  want  some  assistance,  and 

63 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

I  hope  you  will  exert  yourself  in  our  favour.  I  meet  with 
friendly  wishes  from  every  quarter,  but  these  produce  little 
effect.  .  .  ." 

Prior  Sharrock's  letter  to  the  president,  dated  October  9, 
1778,  puts  clearly  on  record  how  the  carrying  out  of  these 
schemes  was  affecting  the  fortunes  of  St.  Gregory's  School : 
"Mr.  Cowley  will  have  shewn  you  his  plan  for  education  at 
Dieulouard,  which  seems  to  me  a  very  good  one.  He  may 
also  have  informed  you  that  our  house  is  ready  to  concur  in 
carrying  the  scheme  into  execution.  I  have,  upon  your  hint, 
reduced  our  masters  to  three,  one  of  whom  is  my  brother.  I 
do  not  imagine  he  can  stand  it  long,  burdened  as  he  is  with 
the  prefectship,  for  which  reason  I  must  beg  your  speedy 
succour.  A  master,  or  a  prefect,  will  satisfy  my  desires  on 
this  head.  .  .  ."  Another  letter  from  the  same  to  the  same, 
dated  May  i,  1780,  notes  how  the  new  system  worked  to  the 
satisfaction  of  its  originators.  It  speaks  of  boys  from  England 
passing  through  Douay,  being  forwarded  thence  to  Dieulouard, 
of  their  progress  in  studies  there,  of  the  good  impression  made 
by  the  young  Dieulouard  monks  who  were  pursuing  their 
ecclesiastical  studies  at  Douay.  Though  this  is  all  pleasant 
enough  reading,  it  does  not  compensate  for  the  havoc  the 
change  wrought  in  the  prospects  of  St.  Gregory's.  It  seems 
a  pity  that  Prior  Gregory  Sharrock  was  not  called  upon  to 
meet  the  difficulties  which  he  had  himself  helped  to  create ; 
for  he  was  soon  after  appointed  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Walmesiey 
in  the  western  vicariate,  and  on  the  12th  of  August  1780,  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Telmessus,  i.pA.  The  burthen  fell  upon 
his  brother,  Dom  Jerome  Sharrock,  who  succeeded  him  in  the 
priorship  at  the  early  age  of  thirty,  and  who  for  twenty-eight 
years,  until  his  death,  ruled  over  the  destinies  of  St.  Gregory's, 
and  on  more  than  one  occasion  during  that  long  period  may 
be  said  to  have  secured  its  continued  existence.  He  was  not 
responsible  for  the  situation  that  had  been  created,  and  had 

64 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,    1605-1793 

only  to  deal  with  facts  as  he  found  them  and  as  he  took 
them  over  from  his  predecessors  in  the  administration  of  St. 
Gregory's.  They  were  these.  The  extant  records  at  Downside 
shew  that  the  admissions  to  the  school  for  many  years  previous 
to  1 781  had  been  numerous;  but  from  that  date  the  supply 
from  England  and  Ireland  practically  ceased.  In  other  words, 
so  far  as  English  boys  are  concerned,  the  school  had  suddenly 
collapsed.  This  is  only  what  might  have  been  anticipated  under 
the  circumstances.  English  parents  who  had  sent  their  boys 
to  school  at  St.  Gregory's  to  be  there  prepared  for  a  career  in 
the  world  in  association  with  others  residing  there  for  the  same 
purpose,  hesitated  when  they  discovered  that  that  institution 
had  been  converted  into  the  general  juniorate  and  novitiate 
of  a  religious  order.  Accordingly  they  transferred  their  sons 
to  schools  more  nearly  fulfilling  their  ideals.  In  a  word,  the 
results  of  the  hard  and  patient  work  of  the  past  two  generations 
were,  by  Prior  Gregory  Sharrock's  action,  simply  dissipated. 
But  if  the  resolution  and  resource  of  the  younger  brother, 
Prior  Jerome,  could  not  undo  the  work  of  the  elder,  Prior 
Gregory,  they  could  at  least  prevent  or  minimise  the  full 
effect  of  his  want  of  foresight.  For  a  time  Prior  Jerome 
struggled  on,  only  to  recognise  that  a  re-establishment  of  the 
school  on  its  old  basis  was,  for  his  day  at  least,  impossible. 
It  is  easier  to  break  up  than  to  build  up  a  connection.  The 
famihes  that  had  been  represented  on  the  roll  of  St.  Gregory's 
alumni  had  drifted  off  elsewhere,  nor  was  there  any  particular 
reason  why  their  parents  should  then  desert  the  schools  that 
circumstances  had  compelled  them  to  select  in  place  of  St. 
Gregory's  for  the  education  of  their  sons. 

Prior  Jerome  Sharrock  accordingly  formed  the  resolution  of 
opening  the  doors  of  St.  Gregory's,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
period  of  nearly  two  centuries  since  its  foundation,  to  other  than 
English  and  Irish  lads ;  for  out  of  a  roll  of  over  700  boys  who 
passed  through  the  school  at  Douay  between  the  years  1666 

65  E 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

and  1 781,  whose  names  have  been  preserved  or  recovered, 
only  six  can  by  any  possibility  have  been  French.  And  from 
a  worldly  and  purely  monetary  point  of  view,  he  was  not  mis- 
taken in  the  course  he  adopted ;  for  a  cursory  glance  at  the 
list  of  boys  who  from  1785  onwards  up  to  the  Revolution 
were  receiving  their  education  within  the  walls  of  St.  Gregory's, 
discloses  the  fact  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  a  school  number- 
ing upwards  of  eighty  were  French.  A  study  of  an  account- 
book  of  that  period  further  shews  that  the  French  boys  were 
required  to  pay  handsomely  for  the  privilege  of  admission ; 
yet,  notwithstanding  the  enhancement  of  those  charges  as 
compared  with  what  was  demanded  of  the  English,  it  is 
curious  to  note  how  ready  and  even  anxious  were  French 
parents  to  place  their  sons  under  the  care  of  the  English 
monks  who  had  so  long  lived  in  exile  amongst  them  ;  and 
also  how,  in  the  course  of  that  long  exile,  these  monks,  while 
confining  themselves  strictly  to  their  own  duty  and  their  own 
English  business,  had  earned  the  esteem  and  regard  of  their 
French  neighbours.  The  young  French  boys  who  were  ad- 
mitted under  these  circumstances  are  almost  all  to  be  recog- 
nised and  identified  as  belonging  to  the  families  of  best 
consideration  in  French  Planders  and  Artois. 

Having  thus  made  such  arrangements  for  the  future  as 
would  ensure  the  continued  existence  of  St.  Gregory's  School, 
Prior  Jerome  Sharrock,  whose  health  was  now  undermined, 
was  anxious  to  resign  his  priorship  at  the  general  chapter 
of  1789;  but  happily  he  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded 
to  continue  in  office.  The  amount  of  his  correspondence 
still  preserved  is  considerable;  it  shews  him  to  have  been 
a  man  not  merely  of  consummate  prudence,  but  also  of 
admirable  temper  and  good  sense ;  it  also  shews  that  he 
never  forgot  his  early  experiences,  and  in  certain  determina- 
tions he  was  immovable,  and  would  leave  them  as  a  legacy 
to  his  successors.     To  him  St.  Gregory's  owes  indeed  a  debt 

66 


HOUSE   CHRONICLE,    1605-1793 

of  gratitude ;  but  here  it  is  enough  to  recall  him  as  the  man 
who  would  not  be  beaten,  however  difficult  the  position  and 
the  circumstances,  and  who,  rather  than  succumb,  temporarily 
changed  St.  Gregory's  from  an  English  lay  school  into  one 
mainly  for  French  boys. 


SCHOOL   BUILDINGS    (FROM    THE   N.E.) 


67 


CHAPTER  III 

INNER  LIFE  AT  OLD  ST.  GREGORY'S  IN  THE  SEVEN- 
TEENTH AND  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURIES 

Account-books — London  agents — Billiards — The  stage — Games — Higher 
studies  —  School  books — Instrumental  music  —  Dancing  —  Drawing 
—  Fencing — Coming  and  going  of  boys  —  School  dress — Frippery 
and  finery  —  Court  of  St.  Gregory's  —  Roll  of  Kings — Officers  of 
the  Court  and  their  duties — ^Journeys — Sickness. 

On  our  turning  from  the  mere  chronicle  of  dates  and  facts 
and  events  to  a  more  homely  atmosphere,  a  chance  is 
afforded  us  of  studying  the  Gregorian  schoolboy  of  an 
earlier  epoch  in  his  everyday  life,  at  lessons  and  at  play, 
amidst  some  of  the  surroundings  as  he  knew  them.  The 
story  is  not  easy  to  piece  together  as  a  connected  whole; 
and  yet,  strange  as  it  may  sound  under  the  circumstances, 
a  fairly  vivid  picture  may  be  gleaned  from  those  most  prosaic 
and  unpromising  of  all  sources,  old  account-books.  The 
books  of  accounts  belonging  to  old  St.  Gregory's  dealing 
with  the  transactions  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries,  which  would  now  be  of  great  interest,  were  nearly 
all  lost  in  the  French  Revolution.  But  for  many  years 
previous  to  that  catastrophe  St.  Gregory's  had  been  repre- 
sented in  England  by  its  own  procurator,  or  local  agent, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  attend  to  the  English  business  of  Alma 
Mater — to  interview  parents,  forward  boys  to  Douay,  collect 
accounts,  and  generally  see  to  the  interests  of  the  house  and 

68 


IN   THE   SHRUBBERIES 
{Partly  surrounding  the  Cricket  Field) 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD    ST.   GREGORY'S 

school.  A  succession  of  these  worthy  agents  lived  at  No.  39 
Gloucester  Street,  leading  into  Queen  Square,  near  Southamp- 
ton Row,  Bloomsbury.  Here  resided  Dom  Placid  Howard  (of 
Corby),  who,  from  1738  to  1761,  so  successfully  watched  over 
the  financial  interests  of  his  house  as  to  see  its  capital  doubled 
under  his  able  management  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
at  the  time  when  Thackeray  makes  George  and  Harry  War- 
rington to  be  living  in  style  in  Southampton  Row  close  by, 
and  Colonel  Lambert  with  his  charming  family  were  satisfied 
to  find  lodgings  in  Dean  Street,  Soho,  now  principally  noted 
for  extreme  squalor.  Here,  too,  lived  Dom  Bede  Bennet, 
whom  Dom  Placid  Howard  had  trained  under  his  own  eye  to 
succeed  him  as  Gregorian  agent  and  procurator  in  England — 
a  labour  of  love  ably  performed  by  him  for  close  on  forty 
years,  till  failing  health  warned  him  to  resign  his  charge  into 
the  hands  of  Dom  Michael  Lorymer,  who  had  been  for  ten 
years  learning  his  methods  under  his  personal  tuition.  The 
latter  father  lived  for  a  time  in  Westminster,  but  returned 
to  Bloomsbury,  where  he  continued  to  reside  as  long  as  he 
retained  the  post  of  London  agent.  If  he  "muddled"  his 
accounts  when  he  was  getting  too  old  and  infirm  to  superin- 
tend business  as  carefully  as  he  had  been  used  to  do  in  his 
more  youthful  and  vigorous  days,  his  heart,  nevertheless,  con- 
tinued steadily  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  St.  Gregory's 
to  the  last.  He  retired  in  1830  to  his  community,  then 
settled  at  Downside,  and  there  prepared  himself  for  death, 
which  came  to  him  two  years  later.  There  are  those  still  alive 
who  just  knew  him  in  those  latter  days,  and  link  him  with  the 
present  generation.  Many  who  have  only  attained  to  middle 
age  were  acquainted  with  his  immediate  successor,  Abbot 
Dunstan  Scott,  for  he  died  as  recently  as  1872.  He  was  the 
last  of  the  London  agents  of  St.  Gregory's,  and  dwelt  at 
Acton,  Middlesex;  though  he,  too,  on  occasion,  stayed  in 
Bloomsbury.     This  series  of  procurators  kept  what  may  for 

69 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

practical  purposes  be  considered  as  duplicates  of  the  Douay 
books  during  a  continuous  period  of  more  than  a  century. 
These  account-books  have  fortunately  been  preserved,  and 
from  their  yellow  pages  and  faded  handwriting  much  may  be 
gleaned  by  the  curious  inquirer. 

Our  records  dealing  with  the  details  of  the  life  of  those 
who  passed  through  the  school  during  the  seventeenth 
century  are  very  scanty  and  limited.  As  early  as  1682, 
mention  is  made  of  a  "  billiard  table  and  cover,"  with  its  con- 
comitant "  six  billiard  sticks  "  and  "  three  billiard  balls."  In 
that  year  it  is  stated  to  be  in  "  the  religious'  calefactory,"  but 
by  1706  the  situation  it  occupied  is  named  as  in  "the 
religious'  and  students'  calefactory." 

The  share  that  both  monks  and  boys  had  been  forced  to 
take  in  the  sieges  of  Douay  apparently  made  military  matters 
a  subject  of  interest ;  and  so  it  is  by  no  means  surprising  to 
find  that  by  1711  this  recreation  room  had  been  furnished 
with  a  map  or  plan  of  the  famous  fortifications  of  Vauban. 
These  or  similar  maps  continue  to  figure  in  the  inventories 
up  to  the  end  of  the  Douay  days. 

The  use  of  the  stage  as  a  means  of  teaching  elocution, 
combined  with  grace  of  deportment  and  self-possession,  has 
been  in  vogue  at  St.  Gregory's  from  time  immemorial.  Were 
our  records  for  the  seventeenth  century  available,  it  is  not 
improbable  that  the  practice  might  be  proved  to  be  coeval 
with  the  school  itself.  As  early  as  March  25,  17 18,  the  prior, 
D.  John  Stourton,  put  before  his  council  a  proposal  that 
had  emanated  from  the  regent  of  the  Vedastine  College  that 
"  hidos  puhlicos  toti  civitati  commujies  operiremus.^^  This  may 
be  understood  in  two  ways :  either  that  the  city  of  Douay 
had  already  been  in  the  habit  of  exhibiting  something  in  the 
nature  of  our  ancient  miracle  plays  (still  surviving  there, 
by  the  way,  in  a  very  debased  form,  as  the  "Gayant"  pro- 
cession); or,  proposing  to  adopt  some  such   performances, 

70 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD   ST.   GREGORY'S 

wanted  St.  Gregory's  to  take  a  share  in  their  representation. 
But  the  responsible  heads,  calculating  the  difficulties  and 
inconveniences  likely  to  arise  from  such  a  course,  the  harm 
it  might  do  their  English  boys,  and  considering  their  numbers 
inadequate  for  undertaking  such  a  task,  decided  to  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  proposal.  This,  it  is  true,  is  somewhat  negative 
evidence.  Less  than  forty  years  later,  however,  in  1756,  we 
learn  that  there  were  stowed  away  in  the  wardrobe  "some 
old  acting  cloaths,"  and  that  in  the  boys'  calefactory  were 
eight  "scenes  for  acting."  Judging  by  what  is  and  is  not 
called  old  in  these  days  of  greater  opportunities  for  changing 
and  replacing  the  stage  wardrobe,  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  the  "  cloaths  "  designated  as  old  in  1756  would  have  been 
doing  duty  to  metamorphose  budding  actors  into  Caesars, 
kings,  and  third  murderers,  even  some  time  before  17 18, 
taking  us  back  perhaps  to  such  remote  days  as  those  of 
Charles  11.  The  subject  is  too  technical  and  too  compli- 
cated for  discussion  in  these  pages,  but  it  is  highly  curious  to 
note  that,  at  a  period  when  the  stage  custom  in  England  was 
to  dress  all  characters,  belonging  no  matter  to  what  period,  in 
habiliments  of  the  fashion  of  the  day,  special  clothes  for  stage 
use  should  be  enumerated  amongst  the  belongings  of  the 
school  "play-cupboard"  of  1756  and  earlier. 

"y^w  de  paume "  doubtless  flourished  from  the  very  com- 
mencement, since  it  held  such  an  important  place  in 
school  estimation  as  to  be  deemed  worthy  of  special  con- 
sideration in  planning  new  buildings.  ''''Jeu  de  paume^'  is, 
moreover,  a  generic  term,  and,  as  such,  includes  several 
species  of  the  one  family — hand-ball,  tennis,  rounders,  and 
"  bat-and-ball."  This  last-named  game  is  still  played  amongst 
us  in  a  way  almost  identical  with  that  traditionally  in  vogue  at 
Ushaw.  This  would  point  to  a  common  Douay  origin,  and 
the  curious  in  such  matters  might  be  able,  with  proper  in- 
vestigation, to  trace  this  excellent  game  to  Tudor  or  even  to 

71 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

mediaeval  times;  whence  it  might  be  gathered  that  as  nowa- 
days the  roving  Englishman  takes  his  cricket  with  him  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  so  our  exiled  English  monks  and 
schoolboys  carried  with  them  to  their  foreign  domicile  the 
traditional  games  and  pastimes  of  their  island  home.  The 
mention  of  "  bat-and-ball,"  too,  conjures  up  visions  of  the  cricket 
of  other  days,  and  in  this  respect  our  old  account-books  help 
us  a  little,  for  from  those  soiled  and  dusty  pages  we  learn  that 
your  old  Gregorian  was  very  much  up-to-date — his  date,  that 
is  to  say — and  we  may  read  how  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  noble 
national  game,  somewhere  about  1775,  young  Henry  Tich- 
borne  was  set  up  for  the  season ;  for  therein  is  debited :  "  To 
4  cricket  balls  for  Titchbourne,  4s.  To  2  batts  for  do.,  3s."; 
and  there  was  bought  of  Mr.  Booker,  the  best  Catholic  pub- 
Hsher  and  bookseller  of  the  day,  "Ye  Game  of  Cricket  for 
young  Tichbourne,  6d." ;  in  order  that  he  and  his  youthful 
playmates  might  learn  the  strict  rules  of  the  game.  After 
making  all  due  allowance  for  difference  of  money  value,  we 
are  left  in  wonderment  as  to  the  nature  of  bat  and  ball  used 
by  Henry  Tichborne  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago.  The  shape 
of  the  bats  is  known  from  various  old  prints  belonging  to  that 
period  ;  of  cane  handles  they  were  innocent,  and  were  more 
like  a  modern  hockey  stick  than  anything  else. 

A  generation  ago  the  average  schoolboy  had  a  passion  for 
marbles,  which  he  saw  no  reason  for  disguising ;  his  modern 
representative  would  look  with  disdain  on  such  a  pastime; 
though  possibly  the  day  may  come  when  some  one  having 
more  than  ordinary  courage  and  no  false  shame  will  be  bold 
enough  to  re-introduce  it,  and  it  may  once  more  become  the 
"rage."  But  their  forebears  of  the  eighteenth  century  gave 
themselves  up  with  unfeigned  delight  and  zest  to  the  seductions 
of  "alley-tors"  and  ''commoneys,"  or  their  equivalents;  and 
we  may  read,  for  example,  of  a  shilling's  worth  of  marbles  for 
Howard;    he    who,    as    Henry    Howard,    of  Corby,    was   in 

72 


INNER    LIFE    AT   OLD    ST.    GREGORY'S 

after  years  a  leader  of  Catholics.  Elsewhere  is  recorded  the 
expenditure  of  four  shillings  and  sixpence  for  marbles  to  the 
account  of  Messrs.  Edward  Smythe  and  Bodenham,  both  well 
known  and  respected  in  Catholic  circles  as  recognised  leaders 
in  religious  politics. 

Douay  being  situated  in  a  flat  country  intersected  with 
rivers,  streams,  and  canals,  it  is  but  natural  that  fishing  should 
have  been  a  favourite  amusement  with  the  more  sober-minded 
and  meditative  of  the  old  Gregorian  scholars.  Many  entries 
in  the  old  account-books  attest  this;  as,  for  example:  "To 
a  fishing  rod,  real  [reel]  &c.,  for  Fitzherbert,  14s.  od."  "To 
a  fishing  rod  and  tackling  for  Mr.  Chomley  at  Douay, 
jQi,  IS.  od."  "For  Sir  Thomas  Gascoigne,  2  casting  nets, 
;^i,  I2S.  od.";  besides  this  entry  there  is  another  very  heavy 
item,  for  he  must  needs  have  a  "  drag  net "  also,  for  which 
the  cost  was  ;^i9,  i6s.  od.  Frank  Hutton's  fishing  rod  and  reel 
cost  I2S. ;  Robert  Fitzherbert  was  provided  at  the  lower  rate 
of  I  OS.  6d. ;  while  one  for  "  Mr.  Berkley  "  was  even  cheaper,  at 
7s.  6d.,  but  there  were  "lines  for  ditto,  3d." 

During  the  winter  season,  too,  the  canals  and  streams  round 
Douay  afforded  plenty  of  opportunities  for  skating;  accord- 
ingly, at  such  times,  as  the  books  shew,  skates  or  "strings  for 
skates  "  were  in  steady  requisition. 

Football  also  had  its  votaries,  and  the  account-books  dis- 
close that  the  balls  ranged  in  price  from  eleven  to  sixteen  livres, 
say  eight  to  ten  shillings  apiece.  "  Bladders  for  footballs  "  is 
not  an  infrequent  entry,  and  "  skins  "  are  in  request  from  time 
to  time.  These  latter  desiderata  conjure  up  the  picture  of 
autumn  term  at  Downside,  when  the  bat-and-ball  season  is  in 
full  swing;  and  it  was  from  Douay  that  together  with  the 
game  was  imported  the  art  and  mystery  of  making  a  ball  with 
plenty  of  life  and  spring  in  it — an  art  carefully  handed  on 
from  generation  to  generation  of  Gregorians. 

"  Hi !  Cockalorum,  jig,  jig,  jig  ! "  had  its  place  ;  and  what- 

73 


DOWNSIDE   3CHOOL 

ever  the  meaning  of  that  cabalistic  utterance,  its  origin  may 
possibly  be  traced  to  the  influence  of  the  Spanish  training  of 
the  first  fathers  of  the  English  Benedictines,  for  a  precisely 
similar  game  may  be  seen  being  played  at  the  present  day  at 
Tuy  in  Spain. 

In  addition  to  the  playground  attached  to  the  school,  the 
boys  had  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  roam  about  the 
grounds  of  the  country  house  at  Esquerchin,  some  two  miles 
out  of  the  town,  which  the  generosity  of  Abbot  Caverel  had 
provided  for  the  use  and  recreation  of  his  English  proteges  as 
early  as  1619.  The  old  records  abound  with  references  to 
this  villegiatura ;  but  when,  at  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons 
early  in  the  last  century,  the  school  buildings  were  given  back 
to  their  English  owners,  the  Esquerchin  property  was  not  in- 
cluded in  that  measure  of  restitution.  It  stood  in  the  same 
relation  to  St.  Gregory's  School  that  "  Blandyke  "  occupied  in 
the  school  life  of  the  boys  educated  at  St.  Omers,  at  Liege, 
and  now  at  Stonyhurst. 

Besides  the  more  active  forms  of  amusement  and  recreation 
already  enumerated,  it  would  seem  that  the  keeping  of  pets 
was  not  discouraged,  if  a  judgment  may  be  formed  from  such 
entries  as  crop  up  from  time  to  time  respecting  pigeons  and 
their  food,  cages,  and  "seed  for  his  [i.e.  Deday's]  bird" ;  and 
it  may  be  surmised  from  another  entry  on  December  17,  1768, 
"To  a  Treatise  of  Bees  for  Sir  Thomas  Gascoigne,  los.  6d.," 
that  that  young  gentleman  had  a  hive,  perhaps  even  an  apiary, 
in  some  corner  of  the  garden  at  Douay. 

Very  little  has  thus  come  down  to  us  treating  specifically 
of  the  course  of  studies  pursued  at  St.  Gregory's  in  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries.  All  we  know  is  that  the 
boys  were  taught  in  such  a  way  as  to  enable  them  to  take 
their  proper  place,  so  far  as  religious  disabilities  would  permit, 
in  the  world  for  which  they  were  destined.  The  results  shew 
that  the  preparation  was  adequate ;  for  St.  Gregory's  has  no 

74 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD    ST.   GREGORY'S 

reason  to  be  ashamed  of  its  Howards  and  Smythes  and  Throck- 
mortons,  and  many  more  who  upheld  the  best  traditions  of 
family  life  on  their  own  estates,  and  who  in  public,  in  the 
arena  of  political  strife,  fought  for  Catholic  emancipation,  and 
shewed  in  their  own  persons  how  fit  they  were  to  take  the 
part  they  had  so  long  and  strenuously  claimed  in  the  public 
life  of  their  country. 

Amongst  the  boys  who  frequented  the  school  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century  was  Francis  Gascoigne.  It  is  recorded  of 
him  that  after  completing  his  humanities  at  St.  Gregory's  he 
*' heard  logic  and  philosophy  there  [Douay],  and  made  such 
progress  that  he  made  a  public  defension."  {Etin  tantum  pro- 
fecit,  ut  universam philosophiavi  meruit propugnare, )  Others,  too, 
followed  his  example ;  and  those  who  were  entrusted  with  the 
training  of  these  scions  of  honourable  families,  in  such  a  way  as 
to  do  credit  to  the  stock  whence  they  sprang,  duly  qualified 
themselves  for  their  onerous  and  responsible  task  by  graduating 
in  arts  at  Douay  University.  This  tradition  of  solid  scholarship 
was  continuous  and  unabated.  Let  the  testimony  of  Gilbert 
Langley  stand  as  an  example  for  the  early  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  This  young  gentleman  had  on  one  occasion, 
as  may  be  gathered  from  his  own  narrative,  been  very  pro- 
perly punished  for  some  misdemeanour  by  a  sound  birching — 
"  smartly  flogged  "  are  the  words  he  himself  employed — and 
then,  commenting  on  the  effect  this  punishment  had  on  his 
wounded  self-love  and  conceit,  he  remarked :  "  I  was  then  in 
Poetry,  and  was  therefore  so  highly  exasperated  at  this  Insult, 
and  heinous  offence  offered  ro  the  Muses,  that  I  resolved  to 
lay  aside  all  Thoughts  of  any  further  Progress  in  my  Learning, 
and  therefore  betook  myself  to  a  sullen  and  continued  Silence, 
which  I  strictly  observed  for  near  a  Month,  and  no  Persuasions 
were  able  to  alter  my  perverse  Disposition,  till  Father  Howard 
(a  Gentleman  of  candid  and  engaging  Behaviour)  took  me  to 
task,  and  by  his  winning  Affability  and  courteous  Complais- 

75 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

ance,  prevail'd  on  my  rigid  and  sullen  Temper.  This  Gentle- 
man indulged  me  with  the  free  Use  of  his  Chamber,  where  I 
spent  my  leisure  hours  with  the  utmost  Pleasure  in  the  Perusal 
of  his  Books,  and  was  highly  delighted  with  his  ingenious 
Remarks  and  Observations,  on  such  Authors  as  best  suited 
my  Genius,  and  heightened  the  natural  Conceptions  of  my 
growing  Capacity."  Having  been  thus  won  back  to  a  better 
frame  of  mind,  Langley  assures  us  he  relinquished  all  desire 
of  returning  to  England ;  and,  applying  himself  anew,  closely 
followed  his  studies,  till,  "having  run  through  all  the 
Classicks,  I  proceeded  to  Philosophy,  pass'd  through  my 
Dialect  or  Logick,  and  was  just  entering  upon  a  course  of 
Metaphysicks,  when  an  order  came  for  my  immediate  return 
Home." 

When  Langley  left  school  he  was  not  more  than  from 
sixteen  to  seventeen  years  of  age,  so  that  the  picture  of 
himself  he  incidentally  affords  is  that  of  a  well-grounded 
and  advanced  scholar,  for  it  must  be  read  in  conjunction 
with  the  passage  previously  quoted,  wherein  he  compares 
the  thoroughness  of  the  training  imparted  at  St.  Gregory's 
(and  this  is  equally  true  of  all  the  English  Catholic  schools 
abroad),  with  the  superficiality  and  outward  show  that  ap- 
parently at  that  period  characterised  the  teaching  of  the  great 
public  schools  of  England.  The  healthy  English  custom  of 
birching  a  boy  into  the  way  he  should  go,  was  carried 
abroad,  together  with  other  insular  notions,  so  that  the 
lads  who  went  over  sea  for  their  due  and  proper  education 
were  deprived  of  as  few  as  possible  of  the  advantages  which 
tend  to  make  the  man  according  to  Busbeian  and  other 
approved  ideas. 

The  elder  boys  apparently  went  to  the  College  of  St.  Vaast, 
adjoining  that  of  St.  Gregory,  for  lectures  in  philosophy.  In 
the  printed  catalogue  of  the  students  frequenting  that  school 
within  Douay  University  for  the  year  1776,  a  copy  of  which 

76 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD    ST.   GREGORY'S 

is  preserved  in  the  archives  of  St.  Edmund's  at  Douay,  occur 
the  following  names  : — 

Kendal,  F.  Richarde.     Benedictin  Anglois. 

Bodenham,  Ch.  Joseph.      Ne  au  Comte  d'Hereford  en  1759. 

Bredall,  Ch.  Ed.  Ne  a  Londres  en  1757.  (Notice  the 
Jacobite  Christian  names.) 

Smythe,  Ed.  Jean.     Ne  au  Comte  de  Shrewsbury  en  1758. 

Throckmorton,  Ch.  Georges.  Ne  au  Comte  de  Bucking- 
ham en  1759. 

On  the  very  eve  of  the  French  Revolution  an  instance, 
culled  from  the  old  account-books,  discloses  the  high  standard 
attained  by  boys  at  St.  Gregory's.  In  Henry  Taaffe's  account, 
"sent  out  on  December  10,  1789,"  is  an  item  of  twelve  livres 
''to  Bandine,repetitor," and  another,  " To  Defensions,  22.16.0 
[livres]."  In  the  following  year  occur  these  entries:  "To — 
paid  for  his  Repetitor  in  Phylosophy,  34.16.0."  This  is  im- 
mediately followed  by  another,  "  To  ditto  for  his  public 
defensions,  37.16.0."  When  Henry  Taaffe  left  St.  Gregory's 
on  August  2,  1790,  it  is  evident  that  he  had  read  and 
fairly  qualified  himself  in  a  course  of  philosophy,  for  the 
ordeal  of  a  public  defension  was  no  ordinary  undertaking. 
No  boy  would  have  been  permitted  to  subject  himself  to  so 
searching  an  ordeal  unless  by  previous  trial  and  experience 
those  who  were  responsible  for  him  had  assured  themselves 
that  he  was  equal  to  the  task,  and  would  acquit  himself  with 
honour,  if  not  with  brilliancy.  Such  cases  would  necessarily 
be  rare ;  as  a  general  rule,  where  a  higher  course  of  studies 
had  been  pursued,  the  ordinary  routine  of  a  private  home 
examination  would  have  sufficed,  as  in  Taaffe's  own  case  in 
the  previous  year,  1789. 

The  culture  of  the  literary  taste  was  certainly  not  neglected, 
and  the  masterpieces  of  their  own  and  the  dead  languages  were 
assiduously  read  by  the  boys,  if  we  may  judge  by  account-book 

77 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

entries.  Thus  Bodenham  was  provided  with  Pope's  Homer's 
Iliad  and  Odyssey^  in  nine  volumes,  at  ^i,  7s.  od.;  and  in 
later  years,  Taberner  was  furnished  with  the  same  bulky  work 
at  a  cost  of  ;£"i,  13s.  6d.,  the  difference  in  price  being  due 
probably  not  to  any  enhanced  value  from  the  publisher's  point 
of  view,  but  to  a  charge  for  the  "  box."  Then  we  may  read  of 
a  Clavis  Homerica^  which  Warenghien  procured  with  a  view  to 
mastering  the  beauties  of  the  blind  poet.  We  do  not  learn 
much  in  detail  from  such  an  entry  as  "  For  Dictionarys  and 
other  Classicks,"  or  from  the  lumping  together  of  "two  dozen 
Greek  Grammars  and  one  dozen  &  1/2  manuals";  yet  they 
represent  much  poring  over  roots  and  particles.  It  is  here 
on  record,  100,  that  these  young  Grecians  were  reading  the 
Cyropccdia.  A  large  order  made  in  1753  shews  that  Cor- 
derius  was  still  in  request  for  beginners  in  Latin.  Then 
we  stumble  upon  "Simpson's  Geometry,"  "Gregory's  Geo- 
metry," '•  Fisher's  Arithmetick,"  "  Barrow's  Arithmetick," 
"Watts's  Grammar,"  "Ash's  Grammar,"  and  Louth's.  This 
latter  would  doubtless  be  the  Hebrew  Grammar.  And  then 
there  was  also  the  "Port  Royal  Grammar,"  priced  12s.,  pro- 
cured for  some  boys,  but  no  details  about  this  expensive  book 
are  forthcoming.  Of  dictionaries  there  is  a  goodly  selection, 
including  Ainsworth's,  Johnson's,  Boyer's,  and  Bailey's.  Of 
more  serious  books,  pointing  to  the  fact  that  their  possessors 
were  putting  the  finishing  touches  to  the  studies  of  previous 
years,  we  have  bountiful  store.  Thus,  John  Selby  purchases 
an  Evangtie  Medite ;  while,  in  1776,  John  Webb  receives  a 
parcel  of  books  containing  "Johnson's  Dictionary  (large), 
Tyronum  figurarum  (^/V),  Vegetius,  Celsus,  Merrick's  Psalms, 
Carter's  Poems,  Campbell  on  Rhetorick."  Six  years  later, 
in  1782,  Francis  and  William  Throckmorton,  aged  nineteen 
and  eighteen  respectively,  receive  "Sheridan  on  Education, 
Sheridan  on  Elocution,  Ossian's  Works,  Remarks  on  Ossian, 
FrankHn's  Sophocles,  West's  Pindar,  Smith's  Longinus^  Demos- 

78 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD   ST.   GREGORY'S 

thenes,  3  vols,"  We  also  read  of  "Chesterfield's  Maxims" 
and,  possibly  as  a  corrective  to  this,  "  Hunter  against  Chester- 
field," for  "Mr.  Smythe,  Acton  Burnell."  Glimpses  of  other 
interests  are  here  and  there  revealed  through  the  medium  of 
charges  for  a  telescope,  "cameras" — whatever  that  meant  in 
those  far-off  days — "  lenses,"  various  scientific  books,  and  even 
Miller's  great  "  Gardener's  Dictionary." 

From  all  that  we  know  of  our  forefathers  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  it  is  evident  that  the  "  accomplishments  "  were  con- 
sidered an  integral  part  of  a  complete  education.  Music  was 
very  generally  taught,  and  under  the  rule  of  Prior  Moore,  who 
was  particularly  noted  for  his  love  of  that  art,  it  may  be  con- 
sidered to  have  flourished  exceedingly.  At  an  earlier  date, 
"  the  elder  Riddell  "  was  learning  the  flute ;  and  just  previous 
to  the  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution,  the  account-books 
furnish  several  more  names  to  the  votaries  of  that  sweet  instru- 
ment, while  others  preferred  the  clarionette,  the  violin,  and  the 
harpsichord.  Mons,  Postel  was  the  name  of  the  last  master 
engaged  at  Douay  for  the  musical  instruction  of  the  boys  of 
St.  Gregory's.  This  gentleman  began  his  engagement  as 
music-master  on  February  i,  1791,  and  he  was  still  attending 
his  duties  at  the  school  at  the  end  of  1792,  notwithstanding 
the  precariousness  of  the  times.  A  note  informs  us  that  "  his 
salary  is  300  livres  per  annum,  with  an  obligation  of  teaching 
the  young  religious."  Many  of  the  youths  also  were  having 
their  voices  trained ;  and  in  the  last  days  this  task  was  being 
performed  by  a  Mons.  Dudart. 

Another  "elegant"  or  "genteel"  accomplishment,  allied  to 
music  much  as  effect  to  cause,  is  dancing;  and  the  terpsi- 
chorean  muse  had  many  votaries  at  St.  Gregory's,  who  were 
learning  their  steps  to  ensure  a  correct  deportment  when  the 
time  should  come  for  making  their  entry  into  the  withdrawing- 
rooms  of  our  great-grandmothers.  None  knew  better  than 
they  the  good  impression  that  could  be  made  by  the  deference 

79 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

expressed  by  a  bow,  and  the  easy  grace  needed  for  the  correct 
sweep  of  the  hand  and  arm  when  doffing  the  hat  and  carrying 
it  to  the  breast — a  lost  art  in  real  Hfe,  preserved  to  us  only  in 
the  canvases  of  painters  and  the  descriptions  of  novelists. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  drawing,  too,  was  well 
taught,  enabUng  the  finished  young  man  from  St.  Gregory's 
when  on  his  travels  to  transfer  to  paper,  not  only  his  mental 
impressions,  but  also  the  presentments  of  art  and  architecture 
which  might  arrest  his  attention.  Thus  cases  of  mathematical 
instruments,  of  considerable  value,  were  frequently  supplied. 
The  poet  Cowper's  correspondence  gives  us,  as  will  be  seen 
later,  a  pleasing  glimpse  of  the  use  this  power  was  put  to  by 
certain  Gregorians. 

Fencing,  as  is  well  known,  is  one  of  the  best  forms  of  exercise 
for  ensuring  a  graceful  carriage,  for  developing  the  muscles, 
and  for  training  the  eye.  Useful  for  such  purposes,  therefore, 
as  this  art  is  nowadays  to  its  possessor,  it  was  a  necessity  in 
those  more  lawless  days,  when  footpads,  brawlers,  and  such 
like  braggadocios  needed  a  sharp  lesson  from  their  intended 
victims.  The  question  of  duelling  may  be  left  out  of  account ; 
but  a  knowledge  of  swordsmanship  of  one  form  or  another 
was  well-nigh  imperative  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries.  It  will  be  no  matter  for  surprise,  therefore,  to  find 
that  the  principles  of  fencing  were  imparted  to  some,  indeed 
to  many,  of  the  Gregorians  at  Douay  by  a  mattre  d'armes ; 
and  these  boys'  names  duly  appear  in  the  account-books. 

Fragmentary  as  must  needs  be  these  references  to  the  topic 
of  chiefest  interest  where  the  chronicle  of  a  school  is  con- 
cerned, they  at  least  serve  the  purpose  of  shewing  that  a  com- 
plete course  of  studies  was  pursued  at  St.  Gregory's  in  the 
olden  lime,  and  there  we  must  leave  this  interesting  subject. 

The  account-books  are  full  of  information  as  to  the  coming 
of  the  students  as  small  boys,  and  their  leaving  as  young 
men.     The  preliminaries  for  the  former  were,  it  would  seem, 

80 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD   ST.   GREGORY'S 

at  times  very  old-world  and  primitive.  Here  is  a  case,  the 
only  one  of  its  kind  recorded,  it  is  true:  "1747,  March  4, 
treating  two  gentlemen,  about  boys,  iis.  od."  Other  and  less 
pleasant  duties  had  to  be  performed  occasionally,  as  witness 
this  entry:  "1743,  August  12.     Spent  in  two  journeys  and 

sending  a   servant  to  solicit   y^  payment   of  's  debt   to 

Douay,  ;£"i,  is."  The  payment,  by  the  way,  is  duly  recorded 
later.  It  may  here  be  remarked  that  "bad  debts"  were 
on  the  whole  few  and  far  between.  The  conveyance  of  the 
youngsters  over  the  water  was  a  serious  affair,  and  one  about 
which  parents  were  not  a  little  solicitous.  The  following 
letter  to  D.  Bede  Bennet  on  the  subject  is  given  verbatim  and 
literatim ;  it  may  be  added  that  it  was  written  by  Mrs.  Ellice 
Esmonde,  a  lady  of  no  mean  name  and  no  mean  condition, 
and  one  who  was  quite  conscious  of  the  fact : — 

^'•Jenury  y^  2,  1770. 

"Sr, — I  have  at  last  got  a  gentalman  to  send  my  son 
Jhon  by.  to  y'  care,  to  send  him  to  Mr.  Moor  to  doway.  I 
must  beg  y"  will  take  all  the  care  in  y'  pour  y'  he  should  be 
taken  care  of,  and  sent  with  proper  compeny  y*  will  take  care 
of  him,  and  sooth  his  parting  with  me — and  all  his  frinds — 
he  has  a  mildness  and  sweetness  in  his  Temper  that  will 
require  Tenderness  and  indulge  which  I  am  satisfied  y""  good 
Sirs  will  show  him  he  is  young,  but  1 1  y'  old,  and  God  has 
given  him  strong  talents,  which  I  hope  will  make  a  figure 
when  properly  cultivated  under  so  good  a  man  as  Mr.  Moor, 
wh.  is  the  only  salve  I  have  to  make  ammends  for  my  parting 
with  him.  .  .  ." 

The  young  gentleman  in  question,  with  all  his  "  mildness  " 
and  "sweetness"  requiring  "Tenderness  and  indulge,"  grew 
up  to  be  a  man  curiously  well  capable  of  striking  out  a  bold, 
or  a  "strong"  fine  of  his  own,  and  making  others  follow 
him  in  it.     Dom  Bede  Bennet,  some  two  months  later,  duly 

81  F 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

entered  all  the  items  relating  to  the  manner  in  which  he 
himself  performed  the  task  of  seeing  the  precious  charge 
safely  from  London  to  Dover,  representing  (inclusive  of 
^£4,  4s.  "  cash  "  given  to  the  boy)  the  sum  of  ^8,  13s. 

If  going  to  school  cost  money  in  those  days,  leaving 
cost  a  good  deal  more ;  the  viaticum,  or  what  led  up  to  it, 
was  a  serious  business.  There  is  a  fairly  common  premoni- 
tion that  school-days  are  approaching  their  term  in  entries 
like  the  following  :  "  Two  razors  and  a  strop,  14s.,"  for  "  Mr." 
So-and-so ;  or,  more  modestly,  "  a  razor  and  strop,  6s.  6d.," 
though  in  this  particular  case,  the  economy  in  the  matter 
of  razors  is  fairly  made  up  for  by  a  premature  fancy  for 
"  cambrick."  In  one  case,  that  of  a  scion  of  the  border 
race  of  Swinburne,  we  catch  the  glint  of  "a  sword."  One 
of  the  last  duties  before  leaving  for  England  was  to  get 
for  themselves  a  great  outfit  of  "  linnen,  cambrick,"  and  such 
like  gear,  utilities  and  vanities  alike,  all  of  which  could 
be  had  cheaper  and  better  on  the  spot  at  Douay  than  at 
home.  The  result  of  the  long  separation,  during  which  the 
tender  boy  had  grown  into  the  young  man,  must  have  been 
often  a  disabusing  of  fond  ideals,  and  always  somewhat 
of  a  shock.  Gilbert  Langley  supplies  this  touch  of  local 
colour  to  the  subject  of  education  abroad  in  the  account  he 
gives  of  his  own  home-coming.  After  minutely  describing 
his  journey  homewards,  including  a  delay  of  three  weeks  at 
Calais  on  account  of  contrary  winds,  he  continues:  "At 
last  we  arrived  at  Tower  Stairs,  and  I  took  my  Leave  of  the 
rest  of  the  Company,  went  ashore,  and  call'd  a  Coach,  and 
ordered  him  to  drive  to  LincoMs  Inn  Fields.  My  Father 
was  standing  at  his  Door,  but  scarcely  knew  me,  habited  like 
a  Frenchnan,  and  dressed  A  la  mode  de  Paris,  till  at  last 
recovering  himself  from  his  surprize,  he  took  me  into  the 
Parlour,  and  there  tenderly  embraced  me.  Numbers  of  the 
Neighbours  came  to  compliment  me  on  my  safe  return  Home." 

82 


INNER    LIFE    AT   OLD   ST.   GREGORY'S 

But  it  was  reserved  for  the  London  tailor  to  give  the  last 
touches  to  the  best  advantage  of  the  outer  man.  Perhaps 
it  may  be  of  interest  to  take  a  sample  case.  Here  is  the 
account  of  young  Mr.  Charlton's  arrangements,  for  instance, 
as  he  was  passing  through  London  from  school  to  visit  first 
the  Wrights  at  Kelvedon,  and  then  home  to  Hesleyside, 
November  1783: — 


To  a  coach  for  Mr.  Charlton 

To  y^  carriage  of  his  trunk        .         .         .         .         . 

To  Mr.  Charlton  in  cash 

To  letters  at  sundry  times         .         .         .         .         . 

To  dinner  on  his  arrival  ...... 

To     do.     on  Monday     ...... 

To  lodgings,  &c.,  at  Jacques's  .  .         .         .         . 

To  journey  to  Kelvedon  ...... 

To  a  hand-glass  for  Mrs.  Charlton  .         .         .         . 

To  a  dozen  of  handkerchiefs  and  making  for  Mrs. 

Charlton,  liv.  93,  13 

To  6  pair  of  stockings 

To  his  place  to  Newcastle        .         .         .         .         . 

To  a  pair  of  boots 

To  a  pair  of  spurs  ....... 

To  a  pair  of  buckles 

To  a  pair  of  straps  for  trunk     .         .  .         .         . 

To  lodgings  at  No  20.  and  breakfasting   . 

To  a  pair  of  slippers         ...... 

To  a  hair  dresser  at  Jacques 

To  a  silk  handkerchief 

To  baggage    

To  a  pair  of  shoes 

To  ye  Taylors  bill 

To  a  razor  case,  &c.,  for  a  present  to  Mon"^-  L'Abbe 


I 

s. 

d 

0 

I 

6 

0 

I 

0 

6 

6 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

7 

0 

0 

6 

6 

0 

8 

0 

2 

I 

6 

0 

16 

0 

4 

I 

6 

I 

5 

0 

3 

II 

0 

I 

8 

0 

0 

7 

6 

I 

6 

0 

0 

4 

6 

0 

IS 

0 

0 

7 

6 

0 

2 

6 

0 

4 

6 

I 

7 

0 

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0 

15 

0 

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I 

0 

£42    o    6 


And  so  the  young  man  thus  equipped,  felt  himself  with  due 
complacency  ready  to  make  his  figure  in  the  world,  present 
himself  with  confidence  to  relatives  and  friends,  and  rejoice, 
let   us   trust,    the   mother's   heart,    impatiently   awaiting  his 

83 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

arrival  in  distant  Northumberland.  Be  it  noticed,  by  the  way, 
that  he  has  not  thought  only  of  himself. 

There  were  others  who,  before  coming  back  to  England, 
made  the  grand  tour,  and  that  was  a  much  more  serious 
affair.  Here  is  a  case:  "Thos.  Riddell,  Esq.  In  1782-83 
through  Mr.  Cowley's  hands.  To  2  years  newspapers  to 
March  26th,  '85,  iis."  "Mr.  Cowley"  was  the  Prior  of 
St.  Edmund's,  Paris — Johnson's  "Mr.  Cowley,"  from  whom, 
as  from  "  Friar  Wilkes,"  he  parted  so  "  tenderly."  It  was 
commonly  through  the  prior  of  that  house  that  young  men 
leaving  St.  Gregory's,  and  not  homeward  bound,  received 
their  remittances  whilst  staying  in  Paris. 

And  here  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  question  of 
the  dress  of  the  old  Gregorian  schoolboy.  In  the  water- 
colour  sketch  of  old  St.  Gregory's,  a  reproduction  of  which 
is  given  facing  page  57,  several  lads  are  depicted  playing  at 
handball.  Their  cassocks  are  tucked  up  in  a  bunch  behind,, 
in  much  the  same  way  as  might  till  recently  have  been  seen 
any  day  by  those  who  passed  the  railings  of  Christ's  Hospital 
School  in  Newgate  Street.  This  was  the  Gregorian  uniform, 
not  unlike  that  of  the  ancient-modern  blue-coat  boy.  As  a 
consequence,  one  of  the  first  entries  in  a  boy's  account,  after 
his  admittance  into  the  school,  is  that  for  "  cassock,  hat,  and 
girdle,"  or,  after  the  admission  of  French  boys,  soutane^ 
cei?iture,  et  chapeau,  as  the  case  might  require.  The  price 
for  these  habiliments  ranged  from  16.5.0  to  48.0.0  (livres). 
It  may  be  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  at  the  period  referred 
to  in  these  extracts,  the  exchange  stood  at  the  rate  of 
twenty-four  livres  for  one  guinea. 

As  parents  know  to  their  cost,  the  wear  and  tear  of  school 
life  upon  clothes  is  enormous,  and  the  outlay  entailed  by 
their  replacement  as  occasion  requires,  no  slight  item ;  hence 
the  purchase  or  mending  of  shirts  or  chemises,  breeches  or 
culottes,  shoes  or  souliers^  is  not  infrequent ;  and  the  mention, 

84 


INNER    LIFE   AT   OLD   ST.   GREGORY'S 

of  the  more  generic  and  comprehensive  term  "  clothes  "  or 
"habits"  occurs  still  more  often.  It  is  in  connection  with 
these  that  the  memory  of  a  certain  Madame  Raison  has 
been  crystallised  in  the  pages  of  the  account-books,  and  she 
must  evidently  have  gained  quite  a  little  competency  by 
patching  and  mending  old  garments  or  making  new  ones. 
Almost  invariably  the  items  that  went  to  make  up  the  final 
account  when  boys  were  leaving,  include  the  sum  of  so  much 
due  to  Madame  (or  other  predecessor)  "  for  making  clothes," 
ox  pour  lafapn  de  ses  habits ;  and  we  are  set  wondering  if  the 
good  seamstress  turned  out  her  young  clients  in  the  height  of 
the  prevailing  fashion  or  not ;  but  on  this  subject  the  account- 
books  throw  no  light :  though  they  deal  with  figures,  they 
make  no  account  of  fits  and  misfits.  Poor  Madame  Raison, 
by  the  way,  fell  upon  evil  times  during  the  dark  days  of  the 
Revolution ;  she  sank  into  poverty  like  so  many  more.  But 
it  is  pleasing  to  think  that  when  St.  Gregory's  had  been  steered 
into  safe  harbour  at  Acton  Burnell  and  Downside,  the  humble 
dependant  of  former  days  was  not  forgotten,  and  on  more 
than  one  occasion  aid  that  they  could  ill  afford  to  spare  was 
sent  to  her  in  her  need  by  her  former  employers. 

Hosiery  and  haberdashery  find  a  necessary  and  largely 
looming  place  in  the  time-stained  pages;  but  buried  in  the 
folds  of  cassock  or  soutane,  our  old  Gregorians  had  but  slight 
scope  for  fancy.  What  scope  there  was  lay  in  the  direction 
of  "buckles,"  and  the  young  gentlemen  of  St.  Gregory's 
availed  themselves  of  it  to  their  utmost.  Thus  "a  pair  of 
silver  buckles  for  Mr.  Swinburne,  ;£"i,  is.  od.,"  "a  pair  of 
plated  buckles  for  Mr.  Throckmorton,  3s.  6d.,"  "a  pair  of 
silver  buckles  for  Mr.  Bodenham,  15s."  In  one  direction, 
cravats  engaged  their  serious  attention ;  in  another,  hats  were 
regarded  as  the  article  of  dress  most  calculated  to  give  a 
finishing  touch  to  the  labours  of  the  tailor;  so  we  read  of 
"  something  about  a  hat "  for  Kelly,  and  "  ribbons  for  hats " 

85 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

debited  to  Henry  Tichborne.  This  lad  and  his  younger 
brother  Benjamin  are  elsewhere  charged  for  "  doing  up  their 
hats,"  and  still  later,  probably  when  returning  to  their  home 
in  Hampshire,  a  further  outlay  is  recorded  on  their  behalf 
for  "  extraordinary  hats  and  dressing  them."  In  the  French 
form,  this  item  appears  as  chapeau  et  garniture.  That  the 
personal  appearance  of  the  eighteenth-century  Gregorian,  even 
when  at  school,  was  not  neglected,  is  revealed  to  his  twentieth- 
century  descendant  in  a  rather  odd  way.  A  remarkable 
combination  of  seemingly  incongruous  functions  is  afforded 
by  the  invariable  clubbing  together  in  the  last  Douay  account- 
book  of  the  offices  of  "writing  master  and  barber,"  as  it  is 
styled  in  the  bills  for  English  parents,  or  according  to  the 
more  grandiose  French  variant,  maitre  d^ecriture  et  perru- 
quier.  "Combing  and  powdering"  is  only  another  form  of 
the  duties  pertaining  to  this  functionary;  and  the  annual 
charge  to  each  boy  for  his  services  was  eight  livres — say,  seven 
shillings.  He — that  is,  the  barber,  for  a  distinction  must  be 
made  between  his  dual  duties — had  an  opportunity  of  further 
profit  put  in  his  way,  when  occasionally  he  was  commissioned 
to  provide  or  make  wigs  for  his  youthful  customers  and  pupils 
at  eighteen  livres,  or  15s.  gd.  apiece. 

In  the  last  chapter  an  extract  was  given  from  Gilbert 
Langley's  "  Memoirs,"  presenting  an  intensely  human  picture 
of  schoolboy  life  well-nigh  two  centuries  ago ;  but  it  was  so 
far  only  one  side  of  it.  It  portrayed  only  the  serious  purpose 
that  brought  together  so  many  promising  youths  from  scattered 
parts  of  England  across  the  sea  to  a  foreign  city.  There  was 
seen  how  the  faith  and  learning  of  their  forefathers  was  im- 
parted to  those  who  in  their  turn  would  hand  down  inviolate  to 
their  posterity,  to  us,  the  heritage  and  traditions  of  the  faith  for 
which  they  and  their  ancestors  suffered  and  bled.  The  other 
side  to  that  life,  though  a  pleasant  one,  had  its  pathetic  aspect 
too;  for  it  was  an  endeavour   to   make   all   those  gathered 

86 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD   ST.   GREGORY'S 

together  in  practical  exile  forget  for  a  brief  space  the  dis- 
tance that  separated  each  one  from  home  and  family.  It 
was  the  British  observance  of  Christmastide  with  seasonable 
festivity. 

In  these  days  schoolboys  go  home  two  and  even  three  times 
a  year,  and  for  more  or  less  lengthy  periods  exchange  the 
routine  and  constraint  of  school  discipline  for  the  comparative 
liberty  of  home  life.  But  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries,  and,  indeed,  later,  when  Catholic  lads  left  home  in 
their  tender  years  they  were  parted  from  parents  and  relatives 
for  long  periods  at  a  stretch ;  and  those  who  went  to  school 
abroad,  remained  there  ofttimes  for  the  whole  term  of  their 
residence,  six  or  seven  years,  without  once  returning  home; 
and  for  all  that  period  continued  more  or  less  under  school 
rules  and  regulations.  But  they  had  not  forgotten  the  rejoic- 
ings of  an  old  English  Christmas,  nor  was  it  desirable  that 
they  should;  for  school  routine  had  to  be  broken  up  some- 
how so  that  the  bow  should  not  be  for  ever  strung;  and, 
therefore,  as  it  was  deemed  desirable  that  our  young  exiles 
should  feel  that  their  Christmas-time  was  the  Christmas-time 
of  a  happy  English  boy,  there  was  need  of  some  striking 
feature  to  emphasise  the  Christmas  rejoicings.  Its  cele- 
bration at  St.  Gregory's  in  the  early  days  has  hitherto 
been  shrouded  in  obscurity,  although  the  antiquity  of  the 
custom  of  the  Christmas  King  has  always  'been  admitted. 
Langley,  writing  of  his  own  school  days,  refers  to  the  "ancient 
tenour "  of  the  charter,  whereby  the  "  rights  and  privileges " 
that  were  accorded  at  Christmas-time  were  secured  to  them,  as 
we  should  express  it,  "  from  time  immemorial."  It  is  probable, 
therefore,  that  the  custom  of  electing  a  king  for  the  period 
of  Yuletide  was  almost  coeval  with  the  foundation  of  St. 
Gregory's  School  itself,  and  had  its  origin  in  the  Christmas 
revels  that  had  been  continued  for  centuries  in  the  ancestral 
homes  of  many  of  the  monks  and  boys   of  St.    Gregory's. 

^7 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

This  custom  was  brought  back  to  England,  and  kept  up  at 
Acton  Burnell  and  at  Downside  with  undiminished  en- 
thusiasm and  with  similar  ceremony  and  observance,  as  de- 
picted for  us  in  Langley's  description.  This  time-honoured 
practice  has,  however,  been  forced  out  of  existence  by  the 
changed  conditions  of  life  brought  about  by  the  introduction 
of  railways,  for  now  Christmas  is  spent  by  all  schoolboys 
at  home  with  their  families.  The  "Court  of  St.  Gregory's" 
is  a  subject  full  of  interest,  and  will  receive  further  notice  in 
connection  with  the  pastimes  of  St.  Gregory's ;  but  it  would 
seem  suitable  to  furnish  in  this  place  the  picture  of  the  Court, 
given  by  Gilbert  Langley  as  he  knew  it  about  1725,  and  as  it 
had  existed,  probably,  for  the  previous  hundred  years.  First 
and  foremost,  of  course,  comes  the  custom  of  electing  the  boy- 
king  and  the  keeping  of  his  royal  court  during  Twelfthtide. 
Those  who  can  recall  that  time  at  Downside,  and  they  are 
yet  many,  will  remember  the  grand  doings  when  the  boy- 
sovereign  was  elected,  and  the  "tuck"  that  accompanied 
that  important  act  of  self-government.  The  same  good 
custom  must  have  prevailed  at  old  St.  Gregory's,  else  what 
was  the  object  of  debiting  the  boys  with  "  one  livre  nineteen 
sols  for  chusing  kings"?  Another  entry  of  not  infrequent 
occurrence  refers  to  the  cost  of  "  entrance "  or  "  entrance 
to  the  Cabinet."  These  terms  as  they  stand  convey  no 
meaning,  but  taken  in  connection  with  the  king's  court, 
they  point  out  Theodore  or  Joseph  Delasenie,  for  example, 
Lawrence  Griffin,  Roger  Farrell,  and  Benjamin  Mostyn,  as 
having  held  posts  of  honour  in  this  mimic  court,  and  that 
they  had  been  members  of  the  privy  council,  or  fulfilled 
other  high  functions  and  offices  therein.  The  succession  of 
the  sovereigns  is  complete  and  certain  only  from  the  Acton 
Burnell  days,  but  the  account-books  have  by  good  fortune 
preserved  for  us  a  few  names  from  among  those  who  in  their 
time  reigned  at  Douay.     Thus:    "Dec.  11,  1775. — Received 

88 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD    ST.   GREGORY'S 

for  His  Majesty  King  Edward,  £10,  los.";  "1780. — To 
expences  for  King  Francis  treating  his  subjects,  ^£2,  los.  6d.'' 
The  former  of  these  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Sir  Edward 
Smythe  who  welcomed  into  his  own  home  the  monks  from 
his  old  school  when  the  Revolutionists  broke  it  up ;  the  latter 
was  Francis  Throckmorton,  who  died  at  Lisbon  in  1788,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-seven.  We  have  already  learnt  from  Gilbert 
Langley's  description  that,  on  one  day  during  his  Christmas- 
tide  reign,  the  king  gave  a  splendid  dinner  called  the  "  king's 
feast."  When  King  Francis  "treated "his  subjects  in  1780, 
the  reference  is  to  this  feast,  for  which  "  treat "  was  but  another 
term.  In  the  last  Douay  ledger,  likewise,  may  be  read  under 
Joseph  Eldridge's  expenses  for  the  year  1788  : — 

For  pocket  money  and  Treat  at  Xmas      ,         .      139.11.9  (livres) 

Eldridge  was  succeeded  in  1789  by  Henry  Tichborne,  and 
under  his  name  there  appears  : — 

For  a  treat  for  the  boys 46.5.0 

Cash  for  last  Xmas  (special)     ....     48.0.0 

In  1790  Matthew  Jumelles  held  the  post  of  honour,  as  may 
be  gathered  from  the  following  entry — almost  the  only  record 
of  the  event  that  we  possess  : — 

To  Prefect's  Book.     King's  Feast    .         .         .     133. 14.9 

Henry  Mostyn  followed  in  1791,  and  the  entries  concerning 
his  tenure  of  regal  state  are : — 

To  King's  Feast 53-3.0 

By  order  of  Mr.  Mostyn  ....     40.0.0 

Finally,  in  1792,  Roger  Farrell  occupied  the  throne,  the  last 
to  do  so  at  Douay,  and  his  account  includes : — 

To  expenses  for  his  Kingdom  during  Xmas       .     99.5.0 
To  money  extraordinary  .....     36.0.0 

89 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

Our  succession  list  may  therefore  now  include  the  following 
names,  in  addition  to  those  which  find  a  place  on  the  Petre 
Library  Roll  of  Kings  : — 

1775.  Edward  (Smythe). 
1780.  Francis  (Throckmorton). 

1788.  Joseph  (Eldridge). 

1789.  Henry  (Tichborne). 

1790.  Matthew  (Jumelles). 

1 791.  Henry  (Mostyn). 

1792.  Roger  (Farrell). 

In  order  that  the  festivities  of  Yuletide  might  lack  for 
nothing  to  help  to  pass  the  time  pleasantly,  there  is  plenty  of 
evidence,  apart  from  Gilbert  Langley's  picture,  to  shew  that 
the  boys  were  generously  supplied  with  cash.  Indeed,  as  we 
scan  the  sums  bestowed  on  the  lads  150  years  ago,  the  im- 
pression forces  itself  upon  us  that  they  could  rarely  have 
wanted  for  money,  and  were  comparatively  far  better  off  than 
the  schoolboy  of  a  generation  ago. 

"Besides  the  usual  Hollidays  at  Easter,  and  Michaelmas^ 
we  claim  by  Charter  an  ancient  Priviledge  of  electing  a  King 
among  ourselves,  to  be  our  Sovereign,  during  the  limited 
Time  granted  by  Patent.  The  Manner,  and  our  Observance 
of  those  antique  Customs  are  as  follows: — A  Month  before 
Christmas,  the  Senior  Scholars  assembled  together  in  Council, 
debate  on  the  Election  of  a  Prince,  and  all  proper  Officers  to 
attend  his  Majesty,  of  which  I  shall  afterwards  give  you  a 
List.  The  Result  of  this  grand  Council  is  kept  inviolably 
secret,  until  Christmas  Eve,  when  the  Clerk  of  the  August 
Assembly  ascending  the  Pulpit,  in  an  open  and  audible  Voice, 
reads  the  Copy  of  the  ancient  Charter,  and  nominates  the 
chosen  King,  and  his  Officers  of  State,  in  Presence  of  the 
Several   Masters   of  the   different    Schools.      Hereupon   his 

90 


INNER    LIFE    AT   OLD    ST.   GREGORY'S 

Majesty  sends  a  solemn  Embassy  to  the  Grand  Prior,  and 
by  it  claims  and  demands  the  Annual  Rights  and  Priviledges 
of  his  then  Subjects  to  be  confirm'd,  pursuant  to  the  ancient 
Tenour  of  the  above-mention'd  Charter.  To  this  regal 
Demand  the  Prior  replies,  My  Lords,  we  are  both  ready  and 
willing  to  graiit  your  present  Sovereign,  all  such  Customs, 
Priviledges,  and  Imitiunities,  as  were  zuont  formerly  to  be  ejijoyed 
by  his  Majesty's  Predecessors ;  providing  that  your  Monarch 
will  expressly  command,  that  all  such  wholesome  Laws  and 
Precepts  (as  were  usually  obseni'd)  be  strictly  adhered  to,  and 
kept  inviolable,  on  Pain  of  severest  Punishments,  and  his  highest 
Displeasure.  The  Ambassadors  return  to  his  Majesty  with 
this  peremptory  Answer,  who  immediately  commands  them 
to  return,  and  deliver  to  the  Grand  Prior,  a  Copy  of  such 
Statutes  as  he  in  Council  hath  approv'd  of,  and  thought 
proper,  by  solemn  Edict,  to  make  known  and  proclaim 
throughout  his  Realm.  As  soon  as  the  King  receives  the 
Prior's  Approbation  thereof,  he  orders  three  several  Copies  of 
his  Royal  Mandates  to  be  affixed  forthwith  in  the  Calefactory, 
Refectory,  and  Dormitory;  and  for  the  due  Execution  of 
his  Majesty's  Pleasure,  and  irrevocable  Commands,  these 
following  Officers  are  constituted  and  appointed. 

^^  Lmprimis,  one  of  the  most  facetious  and  merry  Youths,  is 
chosen  to  perform  the  Part  of  a  Harlequin,  and  by  Patent 
is  styled  his  Majesty's  Brother,  alias  the  Fool;  he  hath 
liberty  always  to  dine  with  his  Majesty,  and  is  present  on  all 
occasions ;  and  in  some  measures,  thwarts  and  controls  him, 
pursuant  to  the  Character  he  bears. 

"The  next  great  Officer  is  the  Lord  High  Constable,  who 
beareth  Rule  over  all  his  Majesty's  Subjects ;  and  is  sworn  to 
maintain  and  defend  the  Peace  and  Order  of  his  present 
Kingdom,  free  and  exempt  from  all  public  Disturbances, 
Feuds  and  Animosities.  None  dare  presume  to  go  out  into 
the  Town,  without  the  Leave  and  Permission  of  this  great 

91 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

Lord;  none  are  to  sit  up  past  nine  o'clock,  without  his 
Licence ;  he  likewise  performs  the  part  of  the  former  Prefect, 
reads  Prayers,  and  sees  all  the  Minor  Students  lodged  in 
their  respective  Beds,  puts  out  the  Candle,  and  then  retires 
to  divert  himself  in  the  Company  of  his  Sovereign,  and  all 
his  Nobles  ;  he  also  is  constituted  and  appointed  Lord  Chief 
Justice  o'er  all  his  Majesty's  Dominions,  and  hears  and 
decides  all  Suits  and  Controversies,  that  arise  amongst  the 
inferior  Subjects. 

"  The  next  in  Honour  and  Dignity  is  the  Lord  President,  who 
presides  in  the  King's  Honourable  Privy  Council ;  his  Office 
is  diligently  to  observe  the  Motions  and  Behaviour  of  the 
several  Officers,  as  well  as  Subjects,  and  when  he  finds  just 
Cause  and  Reason  to  summon  those  of  the  Privy  Council, 
and  there  lay  open  his  Charge  against  the  Delinquents,  who, 
if  found  guilty,  are  punish'd  according  to  Law.  This  Trust 
he  privately  executes,  and  for  that  Reason,  is  commonly  called, 
the  Inspector  of  Manners. 

"  The  next  is  Lord  High  Chamberlain,  who  hath  the  Manage- 
ment and  Care  of  all  his  Majesty's  Household;  he  giveth 
direction  for  fixing  the  Royal  Throne,  and  issues  forth  his 
Orders,  to  the  Inferior  Officers  of  his  Court  to  mundifye, 
and  keep  decent  the  several  Apartments  of  the  Palace 
Royal. 

"The  next  are  the  two  Ambassadors,  who  are  always  and  at 
all  times,  immediately  to  execute  such  Orders  as  shall  be  to 
them  deliver'd. 

"  Next  in  Order,  followeth  his  Majesty's  Cupbearer,  who  is 
always  attendant,  at  his  ordinary  hours  of  Repast,  and  sees 
that  his  Table  be  elegantly  and  sumptuously  furnished,  agree- 
able to  the  Dignity  of  his  Sacred  Person. 

"The  next  is  his  Secretary  of  State,  who  hath  the  care 
of  all  Records  and  Decrees,  sends  and  receives  all  letters 
to,   and   from  his   Majesty,   and  hath  the  sole  Management 

92 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD   ST.   GREGORY'S 

of  all  such  Affairs,  as  fall  within  the  Sphere  of  his  great 
Office. 

"  And  lastly,  are  the  Lords  of  the  Bed-Chamber,  who  consist 
of  the  most  worthy  of  the  Schollars,  and  are  always  in  waiting 
to  attend  his  Majesty's  Royal  Pleasure. 

"  The  ancient  Term  of  our  King's  Reign,  was  originally  but 
twelve  days,  but  of  late,  we  have,  by  sending  a  solemn  Em- 
bassy, to  the  Prior,  obtain'd  a  Licence  for  four  Days  more. 
Our  Monarch's  usual  Residence  is  in  the  Calefactory,  at  both 
Ends  whereof,  are  constantly  kept  two  great  Fires,  and  in  the 
middle  is  fixed  a  large  and  long  Table,  where  forty  or  fifty 
Students  may  commodiously  seat  themselves  at  one  Time. 
Our  usual  Diversions  are  Card-playing,  and  other  innocent 
Amusements,  which  each  Youth  pursues  (according  to  the 
French  saying)  Chacun  a  son  Gout,  every  man  in  his  own  Taste. 
Those  who  by  the  Moroseness  or  Avarice  of  their  Parents,  are 
not  supplied  with  Money  sufficient  to  defray  their  Charges, 
during  the  Term  of  this  merry  Licence,  are  for  their  Encour- 
agement and  Support,  allow'd  to  either  boil  or  roast  Apples, 
which  they  sell  for  one  Liar^  or  French  Farthing  a-piece.  On 
Twelfth  Night,  the  King  sends  his  Ambassadors  to  invite  the 
Prior,  and  some  of  the  Grandees  of  the  House,  to  an  elegant 
and  costly  Supper,  to  which,  none  except  the  great  Officers 
of  State  are  admitted ;  all  the  rest  being  then  in  waiting,  and 
receive  as  his  Majesty's  Bounty,  what  comes  from  his  royal 
Table." 

The  monotony  of  school  routine  was  further  broken  up  by 
an  occasional  "jaunt"  as  the  procurator  or  book-keeper 
termed  the  small  journeys  the  boys  were  from  time  to  time 
permitted  to  take,  commonly  no  further  than  Cambray,  where 
many  of  the  monks  and  boys  had  relatives  or  friends.  Other 
localities  visited  in  this  manner  were  Lille  and  Alost.  The 
radius  must  have  been  considerably  extended  when  the  item 
reads  "  for  Mr.  Basil  Eyston  and  young  Eyston  for  to  go  a 

93 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

vacancy — ;^3,  3s."  There  is,  moreover,  the  frequent  recur- 
rence of  a  small  charge  to  every  boy  for  "  Esquerchin,"  which 
was  without  doubt  meant  to  cover  the  expenses  connected 
with  periodical  visits  to  the  country  house  belonging  to  St. 
Gregory's.  Another  entry,  occurring  with  great  regularity  and 
probably  of  a  nature  analogous  to  the  last,  must  go  unex 
plained  for  lack  of  precise  information.  It  runs  :  ''Woods — 
St.  Peter's,  &c." 

Langley's  Memoirs  illustrate  yet  another  side  of  schoolboy 
life,  for  the  incident  that  follows  shews  that  the  eighteenth- 
century  schoolboy  was,  after  all,  very  like  his  modern  repre- 
sentative. Even  exile  could  not  damp  his  English  spirits  and 
love  of  harmless  fun.  Langley  relates  that  ''John  Hussey 
[of  Marnhull],  William  Etherington  [i.e.  Errington  of  Denton, 
Northbld],  George  Pigot  [son  of  the  great  Catholic  lawyer 
Nathaniel  Pigot],  John  Racket  [nephew  of  the  poet  Pope], 
William  Brown  (a/ias  the  Bull).,  and  I,  form'd  a  conspiracy 
against  the  Peace  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  by  a  mutual 
and  solemn  Engagement,  were  fully  determined  to  make  an 
Irruption  into  the  kitchen,  and  there  plunder  and  carry  away 
all  we  could  meet  with."  In  pursuance  of  this  design  they 
"bored  two  Holes  in  the  Kitchen  Door  that  leads  to  the 
Refectory,  and  fixed  two  Pieces  of  Pack  thread,  black'd  on 
purpose  to  prevent  their  being  observed,  to  the  Bolts  that 
fastened  the  Door  on  the  Inside."  Notwithstanding  all  their 
secrecy,  however,  they  were  observed  by  one  of  the  servants, 
who  told  the  rest,  and  all  determined  to  lie  in  wait  for  the 
young  marauders  and  catch  them  red-handed.  Langley  pro- 
ceeds to  give  a  lengthy  description  of  the  midnight  raid  with 
the  greatest  possible  gusto,  describing  how  they  came  across 
"two  large  Barrels  of  Raisons,  with  the  Heads  of  them  open," 
and  immediately  falling  to  plunder  filled  a  sack  they  had 
provided  themselves  with.  While  thus  employed,  the  servants, 
Frenchmen,  fell  upon  them,  and  a  battle  royal  ensued.     The 

94 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD   ST.   GREGORY'S 

shoemaker,  who  had  a  lantern,  tried  to  see  who  the  boys 
were,  but  Hussey  dashed  it  out  of  his  hand.  The  fight 
waxed  fast  and  furious,  and  Langley  and  his  companions  evi- 
dently enjoyed  their  bout  with  the  despised  French,  whom 
they  drove  into  the  garden.  The  hub-bub  had  by  this  time 
aroused  the  house,  so  it  was  deemed  prudent  to  beat  a 
"precipitate  retreat,  and  endeavour  to  regain  our  Quarters, 
before  the  Prefect's  Arrival,  which  was  happily  effected,  and 
we  were  all  in  our  respective  Beds,  pretending  to  be  fast 
asleep ;  but  this  Artifice  would  not  pass  on  him,  for  we  not 
having  time  to  undress,  our  Cassocks  were  not  as  usual 
spread  o'er  our  Bed-cloaths,  and  he  thereby  easily  dis- 
covered us." 

"  The  next  Morning  we  were  summoned  before  the  Grand 
Prior,  where  the  poor  batter'd  and  bruis'd  Servants  made  a 
most  pitious  Complaint  of  their  Barbarous  Treatment,  vowing 
that  they  would  all  leave  the  House  except  they  had  ample 
Satisfaction  for  the  Injury  done  them.  The  Prior  taking  this 
affair  into  his  Consideration,  rightly  judged  that  if  he  coun- 
tenanced such  open  acts  of  Theft  and  Hostility,  that  none 
would  ever  serve  in  the  Convent,  and  that  it  vastly  derogated 
from  his  Character,  whose  Office  was  to  maintain  Tranquility 
throughout  his  Jurisdiction,  and  therefore  he  pronounced  this 
harsh,  though  just  Sentence,  that  we  should  for  this  horrid 
and  '  unparalled '  crime  be  expelled  the  College,  ,as  an  example 
to  deter  others  from  the  like  enormous  offence.  We  were 
now  like  Criminals  under  Sentence  of  Death,  none  caring  to 
converse  with  us,  least  they  should  be  suspected  to  be  ling'd, 
or  infected  with  our  perverse  Dispositions.  However,  as 
Mercy  is  sometimes  extended  to  the  most  abandon'd  Wretches, 
we  all  (except  the  Bull)  by  great  Interest,  and  the  Characters 
our  Masters  gave  of  our  being  youths  of  a  promising  Genius, 
were  repriev'd,  and  once  more  on  promise  of  our  future  good 
Behaviour,  admitted  into  favour." 

95 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

Notwithstanding  this  lucky  escape  from  a  richly  deserved 
fate,  these  youths,  instead  of  settling  down  quietly  to  work, 
vowed  to  "get  even"  with  the  luckless  scullion  who  had  got 
them  into  trouble,  and  to  whose  door  they  laid  the  misfortune 
of  the  expelled  member  of  their  gang.  After  much  consulta- 
tion they  devised  a  means  of  wreaking  their  vengeance  on  the 
Frenchman ;  Langley  being  careful  to  secure  the  sympathy  of 
his  readers  by  specifying  the  nationality  of  the  object  of  their 
ill-placed  animosity.  One  of  the  duties  of  this  youth  was 
daily  to  fetch  wood  for  the  kitchen  out  of  the  wood  house. 
These  boys  hid  themselves  therein  behind  the  faggots, 
"between  the  hours  of  four  and  five  in  the  afternoon," 
having  provided  themselves  with  "smart  switches"  and  "a 
cloak  belonging  to  one  of  the  Minor  Students,  to  prevent 
Suspicion."  When  the  scullion  came  in  and  began  to  load 
his  barrow,  one  slammed-to  the  door,  the  others  threw  the 
cloak  over  his  head  and  tied  it  round  his  neck,  so  as  to  stifle 
his  cries  and  prevent  their  own  identification,  knocked  him 
down,  took  down  his  breeches,  and  proceeded  to  punish  him 
in  turns  till  all  were  weary,  when,  the  bell  ringing  for  study, 
they  rushed  off  and  took  their  places  in  the  study  room  as  if 
nothing  had  occurred,  leaving  the  poor  wretch  to  extricate 
himself  as  best  he  could. 

Another  feature  of  school  life  is  sickness  or  accident.  At 
any  time,  and  under  the  most  favourable  circumstances,  either 
is  unpleasant  enough  both  for  patients  and  nurses.  But  there 
is  something  more  than  ordinarily  distressing  in  the  thought 
of  dreary  hours  passed  on  a  bed  of  pain  far  from  the  tender 
care  that  would  be  lavished  by  loving  hands  at  home.  Deprived 
of  these  offices  which  so  lighten  the  burthen  of  pain,  illness 
had  its  pathetic  side  for  our  English  lads  on  a  foreign  soil ; 
and,  therefore,  even  after  this  lapse  of  time,  it  is  not  without 
a  feeling  of  pity  that  we  read  of  Henry  Mostyn's  sickness 
in   1792,  the   critical  period  of  which  lasted  for  twenty-two 

96 


INNER   LIFE   AT   OLD    ST.   GREGORY'S 

days.     The  items  connected  with  this  anxious  time  may  be 
interesting  : — 


To  his  nurse  during  his  sickness,  22  days 

To  consultation  of  doctors    . 

To  board  for  the  said  nurse,  @  i.io.o  . 

To  wine  for  Mr.  Henry  and  Mr.  Roper 

To  coal  and  candle  during  his  sickness 

To  a  man  and  horse  for  going  twice  to  Cambray 


22.0.0 
15.0.0 
33-0.0 
15.0.0 
16.0.0 
21.0.0 

122.0.0 


Or  take  the  following  record  of  an  accident,  which  tells  its 
own  tale  readily  enough.  Lalard  broke  his  leg  in  June  1791, 
and  the  accounts  relate  the  list  of  disbursements  : — 


To  paid  for  setting  his  leg  . 

12.  0.0 

To  D.  James,  journey  to  Arras,  horse,  &c. 

6.15.0 

To  paid  to  Barbe,  nurse,  on  a/c  . 

24.  0.0 

To  Barbe,  nurse          .... 

0.19.0 

To  cash,  Barbe 

38.  0.0 

To  board  for  do 

.       68.  0.0 

149. 14.0 

Other  boys  had  to  requisition  the  services  of  the  faithful 
Barbe,  or  Barbara,  who  seems  to  have  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  the  school  authorities  in  all  such  cases  of  stress  and 
anxiety.  It  does  not  transpire  who  Barbe  was,  but  later 
account-books  and  other  papers  shew  that  she  survived  for 
many  years,  and  the  archives  record  a  small  pension  granted 
her  from  Downside. 

After  following  these  Gregorians  of  the  eighteenth  century 
through  work  and  play,  in  health  and  in  sickness,  the  picture 
that  is  impressed  on  the  mind  of  their  twentieth-century 
representatives  is  not  out  of  accord  with  modern  experiences. 
Differences  there  must  necessarily  be;  but  placed  side  by 
side  and  stripped  of  the  mere  outward  trappings  that  proclaim 
the  respective  periods  to  which  they  belong,  the  Gregorians 

97  G 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

of  then  and  now  are  mi  fond  of  the  same  stamp :  the 
differences  are  superficial  rather  than  real  and  fundamental; 
so  that  the  point  of  contact  between  them  is  in  the  identity 
or  close  similarity  of  the  moulds  in  which  they  have  been 
cast. 


98 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  ABANDONMENT   OF   DOUAY,    1792-1795 

The  French  Revolution — Scheme  to  quit  Douay — Escape  to  England 
effected  by  some — Arrest  of  the  remainder — Removal  to  Esquerchin 
— Escape  thence  and  recapture — Removal  to  Douay,  thence  to  Doul- 
lens — Life  in  prison — Aid  received  from  friends — Petition  for  release 
— Return  to  Douay — Permission  granted  to  retire  to  England. 

The  causes,  economic  and  social,  which  made  possible,  and 
finally  effected,  that  awful  upheaval  of  long-established  institu- 
tions in  France  generally  called  the  Revolution,  or,  with  truer 
perception  of  its  nature,  the  Reign  of  Terror,  have  no  part  in 
this  narrative.  But  the  results,  as  they  affected  the  fortunes 
of  St.  Gregory's,  were  momentous.  The  record  of  the  general 
events  of  the  period  may  be  brushed  aside ;  but  those  details 
that  directly  concern  St.  Gregory's  will  naturally  find  a  place 
in  these  pages.  The  story,  furnished  for  the  most  part  by  the 
actual  sufferers,  must  have  for  all  a  pathetic  human  interest 
apart  from  the  intimate  family  interest  it  has  ever  aroused  in 
the  hearts  of  Gregorians. 

The  chief  events  need  but  a  word  of  recapitulation  here. 
The  National  Assembly  asserted  and  proclaimed  its  supre- 
macy in  1789:  the  tumults  that  followed  so  plainly  fore- 
shadowed the  fate  that  awaited  the  Royal  House  that  Louis 
XVI.  and  his  family  endeavoured  to  make  their  escape  to 
England  in  1790.  The  arrangements  for  this  ill-fated  attempt, 
which  so  nearly  proved  successful,  were  made  by  the  Prince 
Augusta  d'Arenberg,  Comte  de  la  Marck,  whose  son  Ernest 

99 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

was  at  the  time  at  school  at  St.  Gregory's.  He  planned 
the  escape  from  Paris  on  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution ; 
but  the  royal  party  were  discovered  in  the  midst  of  their 
flight,  forced  to  return  to  Paris,  and  became  prisoners  in  the 
Tuileries.  Then  followed  the  storming  of  the  palace,  the 
massacre  of  the  Swiss  guards,  and  the  execution  of  hundreds, 
nay,  thousands,  of  royalist  and  aristocratic  prisoners  during 
1792.  In  the  January  of  1793  the  ill-fated  Louis  XVL  was 
led  to  the  guillotine,  and  the  same  tragic  death  befel  his 
beautiful  queen,  Marie  Antoinette ;  while  the  ultimate  fate 
of  their  son,  the  boy  Dauphin,  has  remained  shrouded  in 
mystery.  In  February,  a  declaration  of  war  by  the  leaders 
of  the  newly-constituted  Republic  against  England  and  other 
powers  followed  these  horrors.  The  greatest  uneasiness  was 
created  amongst  the  British  subjects  living  in  the  various 
English  colleges  on  French  soil  by  these  appalling  cir- 
cumstances. Early  in  1790  the  Republican  Government  of 
France  had  decreed  the  abolition  of  religious  orders,  and 
had  invalidated  the  taking  of  vows.  British  subjects,  such  as 
those  at  St.  Gregory's,  were  left  unmolested  for  the  time. 
With  a  view  to  escaping  the  effects  of  the  invalidation  of  vows, 
the  novices  of  St.  Gregory's  then  ready  to  be  professed  were 
sent  outside  the  limits  of  French  jurisdiction,  and  there  making 
their  vows,  consecrated  their  lives  to  God,  and  returned 
immediately  to  Douay.  In  the  early  autumn  of  1790  FF. 
Thomas  Barker  and  George  Turner  were  thus  professed  at 
Brussels  in  evasion  of  the  decree.  During  that  year,  too, 
the  Prior  of  St.  Gregory's,  Dom  Jerome  Sharrock,  was  in 
negotiation  with  the  authorities  of  various  towns  in  the  States 
of  Flanders,  with  a  view  to  transferring  St.  Gregory's  monas- 
tery and  school  bodily  from  Douay  to  some  quieter  and  more 
peaceful  locality.  In  such  estimation  were  the  English  monks 
held,  that  boys  of  the  best  families  of  the  adjacent  country 
had  been  entrusted  to  them  for  education;    and  when  the 


THE   ABANDONMENT   OF   DOUAY 

question  of  their  possible  migration  was  mooted  and  a  circu- 
lar issued  by  the  president  of  the  English  Benedictines  to 
the  cities  of  Flanders  to  elicit  their  sentiments  towards  the 
establishment  of  a  foreign  community  amongst  them,  many 
cities  vied  with  each  other  in  their  endeavours  to  secure 
the  settlement  of  the  English  monks  in  their  midst.  Ghent, 
Bruges,  Courtray,  Alost,  Gudenarde,  and  Nieuport  may  be 
mentioned  in  illustration.  Any  final  decision  to  quit  Douay 
was  deferred  till  the  last  moment  in  the  vain  hope  that  the 
worst  would  soon  be  past,  and  that  things  would  settle  them- 
selves into  something  like  the  old  order.  But  previously  to  this, 
when  the  National  Assembly  had  decreed  the  suppression  of 
the  French  establishments  of  education,  and  appropriated  their 
property,  D.  Jerome  Sharrock,  following  the  example  of  the 
superiors  of  the  English  secular  college,  claimed  exemption, 
and  obtained  it,  on  the  score  that  St.  Gregory's  was  British 
property ;  but  in  order  to  estabHsh  this  claim,  the  title-deeds 
were  required  at  Paris  for  examination,  and  it  was  owing  to 
their  detention  in  the  capital  that  later  the  revenues  of  our 
property  were  for  a  long  time  paid  to  the  secular  procurator  of 
the  Irish  college,  as  representing  the  united  British  colleges, 
and  delay  was  caused  in  the  restitution  of  St.  Gregory's  to  its 
lawful  owners.  As  foreigners  also,  they  were  exempted  from 
taking  the  "civic  oath,"  and,  moreover,  they  claimed  under  the 
terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Navigation  and  Commerce  of  September 
26,  1786,  exemption  from  any  obligation  of  attending  divine 
service  in  public  churches,  and  the  privilege  of  performing 
without  molestation  the  exercises  of  religion  privately  in  their 
own  house.  This  claim  had  been  allowed ;  but  in  December 
1 79 1,  in  virtue  of  a  severely- worded  decree  ordering  all  eccle- 
siastics who  had  not  hitherto  taken  the  oath  {non  assermentes)  to 
appear  personally  before  the  Directory,  D.  Jerome  Sharrock, 
in  company  with  the  superiors  of  the  other  English  houses  in 
Douay,  was  peremptorily  summoned  to  appear  within  a  stated 

lOI 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

time.  They  all  remonstrated  strongly  against  being  subjected 
to  an  exaction  of  such  a  nature,  and  their  objections  were 
admitted  as  valid.  Early  in  1793,  ^.fter  the  execution  of  the 
king,  and  when  the  excesses  that  disgraced  the  Reign  of  Terror 
left  no  man's  life  safe,  it  was  felt  that  a  move  must  speedily  be 
made;  and  in  view  of  the  great  sympathy  shewn  to  the  royalist 
refugees  in  England,  and  the  courteous  reception  accorded  to 
priests  and  nuns  who  had  fled  across  the  Channel,  D.  Jerome 
Sharrock  determined  not  to  accept  hospitality  close  to  the 
French  frontiers,  but  boldly  to  throw  himself  on  the  generosity 
of  his  countrymen  and  to  seek  a  harbour  of  refuge  for  his 
community  and  its  dependent  school  on  the  native  soil  of 
England.  In  this  connection  the  following  letter,  written  by 
Prior  Sharrock  to  President  Walker,  speaks  for  itself:  it  is 
like  the  muttering  of  the  thunder-clouds  before  the  storm 
breaks  in  all  its  fury  : — 

"  DouAY,  February  27,  1 793. 

"  Dear  Sir, — A  few  days  ago  several  young  people  from 
the  English  college  set  out  for  England.  When  they  arrived  at 
Calais  they  were  much  surprised  to  find  that  they  could  not 
proceed  without  a  passeport  from  a  Secretary  of  State  in 
London.  Accordingly  they  returned  to  St.  Omers,  where,  I 
presume,  they  are  waiting  for  the  said  passeports.  Last  night 
arrived  here  from  Dieulouard,  on  his  way  to  England,  a  boy 
about  fourteen  years  of  age,  by  name  Samuel  Lucas.  You 
will  please  to  get  a  passeport  for  him  as  soon  as  possible  and 
send  it  to  us.  Indeed,  in  the  singular  position  in  which  we 
now  find  ourselves,  it  would  be  a  very  convenient  thing  if  we 
had  all  one,  to  make  use  of  in  case  of  need.  For  this  purpose 
it  may  be  proper  you  should  have  a  list  of  those  that  compose 
both  sides  of  the  house.  You  will  find  it  on  the  other  side. 
Nothing  particular  has  happened  to  us  since  my  last !  The 
seals  are  not  yet  taken  off,  nor  yet  placed  at  Esquerchin.     I 

102 


THE   ABANDONMENT   OF    DOUAY 

forgot  to  tell  you  that  all  the  British  houses  in  our  town  have 
two  or  three  soldiers  lodged  within  their  houses.  We  have 
two.     Adieu,  dear  sir. — Yours, 

"J.  S."  (i.e.  Jerome  Sharrock). 

James  Sharrock.  Thomas  Holderness,  lay  brother. 

Michael  Lorymer.  William  Quince,  ,,         ,, 

Richard  Kendall.  William  Wilson,  ,,         ,, 

John  Culshaw.  Joseph  Barber,  ,,         „ 

Peter  Marsh.  Lawrence  Griffin. 

Thomas  Barker.  John  Dubeux. 

George  Turner.  Ralph  Radcliffe. 

Joseph  Eldridge.  Paul  Martin. 

Joseph  Howarden.  Lewis  Martin. 

John  Harrison.  John  Kay. 

James  Deday.  Charles  Hickson. 

Simeon  Lord,  Esq.  Henry  Mostyn. 

Wm.    Sharrock   (Br.  Benedict  Mostyn. 
Joseph),  lay  brother. 

In  the  foregoing  list  the  number  of  boys  is  very  small. 
This  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  most  of  the  French  boys 
had  already  betaken  themselves  home.  From  the  numbers 
at  that  period  on  the  school  books,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  many  also  of  the  English  boys  crossed  the  Channel  when 
the  prospect  was  looking  particularly  black.  Douay  was  ex- 
pecting a  siege  by  the  allied  forces  invading  France,  and 
consequently  a  hostile  attitude  was  assumed  by  the  towns- 
people towards  the  British  subjects  residing  in  the  various 
colleges  and  religious  houses.  Many  students  of  the  great 
secular  college,  as  well  as  of  St.  Gregory's,  thus  forewarned  in 
time,  managed  to  obtain  the  necessary  passports,  and,  having 
money,  escaped  to  England  without  much  trouble  and  hard- 
ship. Others,  less  fortunate  and  not  provided  with  means, 
nevertheless   ventured   upon    making   their   escape,   trusting, 

103 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

under  the  merciful  providence  of  God,  to  good  fortune,  and 
to  their  own  natural  pluck  and  resourcefulness.  In  a  letter 
written  by  Prior  Sharrock  to  President  Walker  on  April  i, 
1 79 1,  we  read  :  "  Our  turbulent  troops  quitted  us  this  morn- 
ing. There  was  a  moment  when  we  feared  they  might  have 
carried  their  rage  (for  who  can  tell  how  far  madness  will  go?) 
against  Little  Derbaix  at  our  house,  but  Providence  kindly 
averted  it."  The  reference  is  to  the  hneute  that  signalised  the 
first  outbreak  of  the  anarchic  spirit  in  Douay,  on  which  occa- 
sion, as  a  boy  who  had  formerly  been  at  the  secular  college 
has  left  on  record,  the  worst  passions  of  the  mob  were  inflamed 
by  the  harangues  of  two  orators  belonging  to  the  National 
Assembly,  who  ascribed  the  miseries  of  the  time,  not  to  their 
true  cause,  the  late  bad  harvests,  but  to  the  rapacity  of  the 
rich.  Li  their  fury  the  excited  populace  fell  on  the  good  and 
loyal  citizens.  Two  of  their  victims,  as  soon  as  they  were 
seized,  were  hanged  from  the  nearest  lamp-post,  and  their 
bodies,  with  a  refinement  of  brutality,  were  afterwards  dragged 
about  the  streets  throughout  the  ensuing  night  in  tumultuous 
procession.  One  of  these  unfortunates  was  a  Mons.  Derbaix, 
father  of  our  Gregorian,  a  publisher  or  newspaper  proprietor 
who  had  made  himself  obnoxious  to  the  demagogues  by  the 
fearlessly  loyal  tone  of  his  press. 

From  the  letter  of  February  27,  1793,  already  quoted,  it  has 
been  gathered  that  guards  were  billeted  on  the  college ;  this 
is  explained  by  another  letter  from  one  of  the  boys  of  the 
secular  college,  dated  February  21,  1793,  given  at  length  in 
Mgr.  Ward's  History  of  St.  Edmund's  College.  "  On  the 
morning  of  Monday  last,"  says  the  writer,  "  the  i8th  of  the 
present  month,  a  body  of  national  guards  was  ordered  to 
assemble  in  the  market-place,  without  being  informed  of  the 
design  of  their  expedition.  They  were  no  sooner  assembled, 
and  their  commissaries  from  the  district  arrived,  but  they  filed 
off  to  the  five  British  establishments  which  are  settled  in  our 

104 


THE   ABANDONMENT   OF   DOUAY 

town.  We  had  not  been  informed  of  their  coming  till  a  few 
moments  before  their  arrival,  when  some  people,  with  counte- 
nances bespeaking  their  fears,  ran  to  inform  us  that  the  guards 
were  assembled  to  expel  us  from  our  habitations.  I  leave  you 
to  judge  of  our  alarms  at  this  information.  They  arrived  soon 
after,  and  summoned  the  president  and  some  others  into  the 
parlour.  There  an  apostate  priest  and  monk  of  Marchiennes, 
as  a  member  of  the  district,  read  over  a  warrant  which  autho- 
rised them  to  impose  the  national  seals  upon  the  goods  and 
papers  of  the  college,  as  also  those  of  the  superiors.  .  .  .  The 
guards  in  general  formed  a  despicable  collection  ;  they  were 
seemingly  the  scum  of  the  town.  The  commissaries  were 
equally  unknown  to  us.  .  .  .  The  pretended  motive  of  these 
proceedings  was  to  put  our  property  in  security,  as  a  storm, 
they  said,  seemed  to  be  gathering  against  us  from  people  of 
inferior  conditions,  among  whom  several  rumours,  unfavour- 
able to  us,  had  been  spread.  .  .  .  The  real  cause  was  unknown 
to  us  for  some  time,  but  a  letter  received  from  Paris  seems  to 
unravel  the  whole  mystery.  .  .  .  The  letter  clearly  discovers 
to  you  the  reason  of  our  goods  being  sealed,  and  shews  the 
cause  traced  up  to  the  National  Convention.  The  decree  of 
the  9th  last  August  mentioned  is  a  decree  by  which  all  incor- 
porate bodies,  without  exception,  were  declared  suppressed. 
On  hearing  this  we  were  not  alarmed,  because  we  did  not 
suppose  it  regarded  strangers ;  but  we  were  deceived.  The 
decree  of  the  14th  instant,  February,  declares  that  English, 
&c.,  &c.,  colleges  should  receive  the  pay  of  their  funds  till 
the  expiration  of  the  six  first  months  in  1793,  ordering  the 
Committees  of  Instruction,  Surveillance,  and  that  of  Alienation 
to  prepare  the  final  decree.  .  .  ." 

Matters  were  rapidly  coming  to  a  crisis.  After  the  defeat 
of  General  Dumourier  by  the  allies,  the  Republican  troops 
fell  back  upon  Douay,  and  a  siege  appearing  imminent,  an 
order  was   issued  by  an  "  Arrete  des  Corps  Administratifs 

105 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

scant  a  Douai,  reunis  au  Commandant  de  I'Arrondissement," 
dated  August  8,  1793,  obliging,  amongst  others,  all  British 
subjects  within  the  town  to  quit  it  within  twenty-four  hours. 
The  community  and  remaining  boys  of  St.  Gregory's  accord- 
ingly withdrew  to  their  country  house  at  Esquerchin,  where 
they  stayed  unmolested  for  some  weeks.  During  the  progress 
of  these  disturbances,  but  whether  before  or  after  the  seizure 
of  St.  Gregory's  does  not  appear,  Ralph  Radcliffe,  one  of  our 
boys,  was,  with  some  others,  according  to  his  younger  brother's 
account,  allowed  to  leave  the  school  and  make  his  way  to 
England  as  best  he  could.  The  subjoined  narrative  is  copied 
from  the  Ampleforth  Journal  (July  1900),  and  is  without 
doubt  typical  of  what  befel  more  than  one  youngster  hailing 
either  from  St.  Gregory's  or  from  the  secular  college.  "  This 
{i.e.  the  attempt  to  escape  to  England)  was  no  easy  matter, 
for  soldiers  were  scouring  the  country  and  there  was  much 
difficulty  in  avoiding  them.  They  left  Douay  in  small  parties 
to  avoid  suspicion,  but  they  soon  found  they  must  separate. 
Ralph  changed  clothes  with  a  peasant,  and  with  a  companion 
made  his  way  homewards,  meeting  with  many  wonderful 
escapes  and  dangers.  The  country  people  were  generally 
kind  to  the  fugitives  when  they  asked  for  shelter,  but  were 
deterred  from  shewing  them  the  needed  hospitality  through 
fear  of  the  consequences.  On  one  occasion  a  kind-hearted 
man,  seeing  their  distressed  appearance,  took  them  into  his 
house  and  gave  them  a  night's  lodging.  In  the  morning,  to 
their  horror,  they  found  soldiers  drawn  up  in  front  of  the 
house.  They  were  evidently  suspected  and,  as  they  feared, 
in  great  peril.  Their  kind  host,  however,  shewed  them  a  kind 
of  drain  or  culvert  which  led  to  the  back  of  the  house,  through 
which  they  crept  and  made  their  escape."  The  narrative 
does  not  inform  us  how  Ralph  managed  to  cross  the  Channel 
nor  how  he  accomplished  the  long  journey  from  Dover,  where 
he  probably  landed,  to  his  home  at  Stearsby  in  Yorkshire,  and 

106 


THE    ABANDONMENT   OF    DOUAY 


is  thus  distinctly  disappointing ;  but  it  leaves  the  impression 
that  he  travelled  the  greater  part  of  the  way  on  foot,  possibly 
at  times  getting  a  passing  lift;  and  after  many  dangers  and 
sufferings  at  last  reached  home  without  shoes  or  stockings, 
and  with  his  clothes  in 
rags.  Later,  when  St. 
Gregory's  was  settled  at 
Acton  Burnell,  Ralph 
rejoined  his  former  as- 
sociates, took  the  habit, 
and  died  on  his  seven- 
tieth birthday,  January 
4,  1842. 

When  the  members 
of  St.  Gregory's,  in  com- 
pliance with  the  order 
of  August  8,  1793,  re- 
tired on  the  following 
afternoon  to  Esquer- 
chin,  the  prior,  D. 
Jerome  Sharrock,  was 
permitted  to  remain  in 
Douay  for  the  purpose 
of  protecting  St.  Gre- 
gory's, as  far  as  pos- 
sible, from  fire  and 
pillage.  At  Esquer- 
chin  the  party  remained 
under  guard  for  several 
weeks.  While  they  were  quartered  here  a  plan  was  concocted 
to  effect  their  escape,  and  an  attempt  made  to  put  it  into  execu- 
tion. The  exact  date  does  not  transpire ;  but  one  night,  under 
cover  of  darkness,  they  left  the  country  house  in  parties  of  two 
or  three,  agreeing  to  meet  at  a  certain  farmhouse  whose  owner 

107 


A    VIEW    ACROSS    THE    NORTH    TRANSEPT 
[Front  the  Tii/briutn) 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

had  formerly  been  a  student  in  the  school,  and  was  of  course 
friendly  to  them.  This  rendezvous  they  reached  safely,  and 
after  a  rest  proceeded  towards  the  frontier,  and  had  reached 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  Austrian  lines  when  they  stumbled 
upon  French  sentinels,  who  fired  upon  them.  Half  the  party 
eluded  the  guard  and  got  back  safely  to  Esquerchin,  but  the 
remainder  were  seized,  taken  to  headquarters  at  Monsen, 
and  thence,  after  undergoing  examination,  to  the  prison  of  the 
Annonciades  at  Douay,  which  they  reached  famished  and 
spent  with  fatigue,  and  there  they  remained  till  transferred 
once  more  to  Esquerchin.  Thus  the  time  passed  wearily 
enough  till,  the  danger  of  a  siege  being  over,  a  sudden  order 
was  given  early  in  October  for  all  to  return  to  their  respective 
houses  in  Douay.  Little  suspecting  the  object  of  this  move, 
they  joyfully  made  their  way  back,  expecting  to  be  at  liberty 
to  resume  their  old  course  of  life ;  but  on  October  12  another 
order  was  issued,  proclaiming  the  subjects  of  his  Britannic 
Majesty  dwelling  in  Douay  to  be  under  a  state  of  arrest  within 
their  own  houses  till  peace  should  be  established.  On  the 
same  day  two  commissioners,  Citizens  Cautet  and  Fradiel, 
made  a  domiciliary  visit  to  St.  Gregory's,  while  others  went  at 
the  same  time  to  the  English  secular  college.  At  both 
places  seals  were  put  on  all  the  doors.  One  purpose  of  the 
visit  they  declared  was  to  arrest  certain  British  subjects,  but 
they  found  none  of  those  they  were  particularly  sent  to  search 
for.  After  a  few  more  days  of  painful  suspense  the  mandate 
came  for  the  members  both  of  St.  Gregory's  and  of  the  secular 
college  to  be  removed  at  once  to  the  citadel  of  Doullens  in 
Picardy.  There  were  but  six  of  the  former,  namely,  the  prior, 
Dom  Jerome  Sharrock ;  the  subprior,  Dom  Anselm  Lorymer ; 
Simeon  Lord,  Esq. ;  Thomas  Barker ;  Joseph  Eldridge,  who 
had  been  professed  only  a  year  previously ;  and  Joseph  Barber, 
a  lay  brother.  The  party  from  the  secular  college  numbered 
forty-one.    On  Wednesday,  October  16, 1793,  these  companions 

108 


THE   ABANDONMENT   OF   DOUAY 

in  misfortune  went  forth  prisoners  from  the  walls  that  had 
sheltered  them  and  their  predecessors  for  two  centuries,  and 
commenced  their  journey  to  DouUens,  leaving  behind  at  St. 
Gregory's  two  lay  brothers,  who  through  age  and  infirmity 
were  unequal  to  the  journey ;  one  of  these.  Brother  Joseph 
Sharrock,  brother  of  the  prior,  died  soon  after,  broken-hearted 
at  the  desolation  that  had  overtaken  his  home.  It  is  gratify 
ing  to  know  that  the  townsmen  of  Douay,  who  had  learnt  to 
love  the  strangers  within  their  gates,  exhibited  no  triumph,  but 
rather  sympathy,  at  the  downfall  of  the  unoffending  English- 
men. Father  Hodgson,  one  of  the  secular  collegians  thus 
hurried  away  to  prison,  lived  to  recount  their  sufferings,  and 
in  the  Catholic  Magazine  for  March  1831  (p.  89)  states :  "On 
Wednesday,  October  16,  about  one,  or  between  one  and  two 
o'clock,  sixty-three  individuals,  of  whom  forty-seven  were 
English,  seated  in  eight  open  waggons,  as  mentioned  above, 
and  escorted  by  dragoons  and  gens-d'armes,  exhibited  a  sad 
spectacle  to  the  good  and  thoughtful  amongst  the  townsmen 
of  Douay.  .  .  .  We  must  do  them  the  justice  to  say,  that 
from  the  Scotch  college  to  Esquerchin  gate,  which  is  near  a 
mile,  through  some  of  the  most  populous  streets,  we  saw  much 
pity  and  indignant  sympathy,  and  nothing  of  exultation  or 
insult." 

After  a  long  afternoon's  drive  they  reached  Arras,  some 
twenty  miles  distant,  where  they  were  lodged  for  the  night  in 
the  barracks,  and  next  morning  resumed  their  journey  and 
reached  DouUens  about  sunset.  All  the  party  were  huddled 
together  into  a  sally-port  under  the  ramparts,  and  buying  a 
little  straw  at  eight  sous  the  bundle,  they  settled  themselves 
down  for  the  night  as  best  they  could  in  this  dark  subterranean 
passage,  hitherto  used  by  the  soldiers  as  a  place  of  easement, 
and  not  inaptly  termed  by  one  of  the  victims  a  "  Black  Hole." 
There  they  remained  till  eleven  next  morning,  when  they  were 
transferred  to  a  garret.     It  was  on  the  feast  of  St.  Luke  the 

109 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

Evangelist,  October  i8,  that  they  began  here  a  life  of  regularity 
not  unlike  that  they  had  been  accustomed  to  at  Douay,  but 
under  strangely  different  circumstances.  Prior  Sharrock  com- 
forted his  fellow-prisoners,  reminding  them  how  appropriate 
were  the  words  used  by  the  Church  in  the  collect  of  the  festival, 
which  recorded  of  St.  Luke  that  he  "  constantly  bore  in  his 
body  the  mortification  of  the  Cross  for  the  honour  of  the 
name  of  Jesus." 

It  was  suggested  that  regularity  conduced  to  happiness,  and 
that  even  under  such  unpropitious  circumstances  they  should 
make  a  division  of  their  time  for  the  duties  of  prayer,  study, 
and  recreation.  They  had  but  few  books  with  them,  and 
scanty  convenience  for  reading  them,  for  the  light  from  a  few 
small  windows  was  very  inadequate.  The  days,  too,  were 
growing  shorter  and  shorter,  and  there  was  scarcely  any  arti- 
ficial light  during  the  long  winter  evenings.  Yet  they  pre- 
served their  cheerfulness,  and  in  large  measure  their  health. 
They  rose  between  6  and  7  a.m.,  cleaned  up  their  garret  as 
tidily  as  possible,  stowing  away  the  straw  in  one  corner  till  it 
was  required  for  the  next  night ;  and,  much  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  their  French  guards,  who  failed  to  appreciate  the 
necessity  of  cleanliness  either  for  themselves  or  for  others, 
went  out  regularly  to  a  trough  in  the  yard  for  their  morning 
ablutions.  Morning  prayers  and  meditation  followed,  and 
were  succeeded  by  a  scanty  breakfast  of  dry  bread  and 
thin  milk,  after  which  came  time  for  study,  broken  by  a 
quarter  of  an  hour's  exercise,  taken  under  the  supervision 
of  the  guards.  Dinner,  a  very  unpunctual  meal,  was  sup- 
posed to  be  at  noon  if  their  gaolers  were  so  minded,  followed 
by  recreation  lasting  till  two  o'clock.  Studies  were  then 
resumed  till  4.30  p.m.,  and  afterwards  they  again  took  exercise. 
The  evening  was  spent  in  reading,  followed  by  supper  at  such 
hour  as  it  was  given  to  them  ;  and  at  9  p.m.,  after  prayers  said 
in  public,  they   littered  their  straw   once  more,   and  betook 

no 


THE   ABANDONMENT   OF   DOUAY 

themselves  to  rest,  forgetting  the  sorrows  of  one  day  in  the 
sleep  that  prepared  them  to  meet  those  of  the  next. 

The  succession  of  prayers,  studies,  meals,  and  recreations 
made  the  days  at  Doullens  pass  as  easily  as  could  be  expected 
under  such  circumstances.  There  is  in  the  library  of  St. 
Edmund's  Abbey  at  Douay  a  relic  of  those  trying  times — a 
book  which  shared  their  captivity.  It  is  a  copy  of  the 
Sinner's  Guide,  London,  1760.  Inside  the  cover  are  written 
or  scribbled  the  following  names:  '''' Bulbeck ;  Jac.  Thornton, 
1775;  Thos.  Smith,  Dour  lens  Citadel — i7t  prison.^'  On  the 
title-page  is  written  :  "Coll:  Angl:  1789";  and  on  the  margin 
there  is  a  faint  outUne  of  an  old  man's  face,  nose  and  chin 
almost  meeting,  surmounted  by  a  nightcap,  or  cap  of  liberty, 
with  the  tassel  dangling  over  his  nose,  and  entitled  a  native  of 
Dourlens,  but  it  would  stand  equally  well  for  a  prototype  of 
Mr.  Punch.  There  is  record  of  another  book  used  by  the 
Doullens  prisoners.  Dom  Lorymer,  writing  in  after  years 
(London,  December  14,  1797)  to  Prior  Sharrock,  thus  recalls 
to  his  mind  :  "  .  .  .  There  is  a  work  called  Transitus  Aninice, 
which,  I  believe,  you  read  at  Doullens.  .  .   ." 

Father  Hodgson's  narrative,  already  quoted,  here  furnishes 
an  interesting  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the  details  of  the 
life  led  by  the  British  prisoners  at  Doullens,  especially  in 
regard  to  Gregorian s.  He  states  :  "  Mr.  Sharrock's  family 
shared  with  us  all  the  rigours  of  confinement,  and  by  their 
company,  conversation,  example,  and  courage  helped  and 
edified  us  in  every  change  of  scene  and  distress.  They  were 
but  six  in  number ;  of  consequence,  it  was  easier  for  them  to 
find  a  regular  meal  at  a  fixed  time.  This  they  did  at  the 
licensed  ale-house  {cantine) — if  anything  like  ale  can  be  found 
in  France — which  was,  for  one  part  of  our  time,  within  the 
narrow  precincts  of  our  enclosure.  In  this  alone  they  may  be 
said  to  have  fared  better  than  ourselves.  But  bad  was  the  best. 
Their  finances,  like  our  own,  were  limited  and  precarious. 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

French  fare  at  the  time,  when  the  law  of  inaxhmwi  and  re- 
quisitiojis  had  nearly  shut  up  shops,  shambles,  and  markets, 
was  very  poor  doings  for  hungry  stomachs,  at  any  price  which 
their  poor  pockets  could  afford.  We  found  more  than  sym- 
pathetic friendship  at  their  hands.  Their  extraordinaries  were 
liberally  extended  to  many  of  us.  A  cup  of  coffee  was  a 
luxury ;  and  the  writer  of  these  lines  and  others  have  often 
received  it  from  their  generous  hand.  A  glass  of  unadul- 
terated and  generous  wine,  since  the  time  that  the  law  of 
maximum  had  frightened  all  ivine  into  vinegar^  and  had 
poisoned  all  brandy  with  vitriol^  was  a  very  scarce  boon 
indeed.  Some  friends,  however,  supplied  them  with  some 
of  a  very  choice  and  valuable  quality ;  and  this  their  liberality 
poured  out  to  the  sick,  for  the  use  of  the  altar,  and  to  indi- 
viduals, with  the  hospitable  charity  of  Benedictine  religious." 
A  letter  preserved  in  the  Downside  archives  gives  the  key  to 
this  last  paragraph,  and  deserves  inclusion  here  as  a  tribute 
both  to  the  generous  donor,  an  old  Gregorian,  and  to  the 
character  of  him  who  had  inspired  so  lasting  an  affection  in 
his  old  pupil. 

"  Rheims,  le  i6  Thermidor,  an  4. 

"  Cher  Citoyen  ! — Je  me  refera  a  la  lettre  que  j'ai  eu  le 
plaisir  de  vous  ecrire  le  9  de  ce  mois,  laquelle  contenoit,  un 
assign  de  400  (francs)  No.  351,  serie  1180,  et  que  j'ai  fais 
charger  a  votre  addresse.  Cette  lettre  etoit  en  reponse  k  la 
chere  votre  du  27  Messidor.  Avisez  m'en  je  vous  prie  la 
bonne  reception. 

"  Par  la  presente,  je  vous  donne  avis,  que  j'ai  fait  partir  pour 
vous  parvenir  en  1 5  jours,  franc  de  tout  payment  et  de  post, 
un  panier  No.  i.  JS.,  contenant  120  Bould :  Champagne 
rouge  de  1788,  audessus  du  panier  sont  12  demie  bouteilles 
vin  de  Rota.  Je  desire  que  ce  vin  vous  parvienne  sans  retard, 
et  assez  a  tems  pour  le  retablissement  de  votre  sante  a  la 

112 


THE   ABANDONMENT   OF    DOUAY 

quelle  je  prens  I'interet  d'un  bon  pupile,  qui  reconnoissant  des 
soins  que  vous  avez  pris  pour  lui  dans  ses  tendres  annees,  ne 
peut  oublier  le  souvenir  de  vos  bontes.  Nos  vignes  se  pre- 
parent  bien,  et  nous  avons  I'espoir  d'une  bonne  vendange. 
Mes  complimens  sincers  au  C.  Lorimer,  et  recevez  de  nouveau 
les  sentimens  d'attachement  de  votre  affectione  et  ancien 
disciple,  J.  Ruinart. 

"Avisez  moi,  je  vous  prie,  aussi  la  reception  du  panier 
de  vin. 

"  Au  Citoyen  J.  Sharrock,  au  cydevant 
Chateau  a  Doullens. 
"Lu  au  Comite  revol^'"^^  de  la  Commune  de  Doullens." 

Father  Hodgson  then  proceeds :  "  Greater  cordiality  and 
union  could  not  exist  between  brothers  than  existed  between 
the  English  Benedictines  and  us.  And  at  this  day  I  and 
others  cherish  the  recollection  of  the  black  hole,  the  garret, 
and  other  circumstances  of  our  confinement,  with  a  soothing 
satisfaction,  for  the  acquisition  of  six  such  friends  as  Mr. 
Sharrock,  Mr.  Lorymer,  Mr.  Lord,  Mr.  Barker,  Mr.  Eldridge, 
and  Mr.  Barber.     Animas  candidiores  nusquam  tulit  tellus. 

"  To  them  we  were  indebted  for  the  great  happiness  of 
being  able  to  say  mass.  They  had  just  time  enough  before 
the  arrival  of  the  gens  d^armes  at  Esquerchin,  to  secrete  a 
chalice,  an  altar  stone,  about  a  hundied  unconsecrated  hosts, 
wax,  and  one  complete  set  of  green  vestments.  Provi- 
dentially the  whole  arrived  safe  and  unknown  to  our 
persecutors." 

One  consolation  was,  of  course,  denied  them :  the  presence 
in  their  midst  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  to  be  their  joy  and 
comfort ;  but  their  sorrows  were  greatly  mitigated,  and  they 
gained  strength  to  bear  them  with  greater  fortitude  and  resig- 
nation from  the  inestimable  privilege  thus  secured  by  the 
foresight,  nay,  instinct,  of  the  Gregorians,  in  preserving  from 

113  H 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

the  general  confiscation  the  essentials  for  the  celebration  of 
the  holy  sacrifice. 

By  the  help  of  baskets,  boxes,  and  shutters,  they  contrived 
to  raise  a  structure  whereon  to  place  the  altar  stone.  For 
fear  of  arousing  suspicion,  they  rose  very  quietly  and  knelt  on 
the  straw  so  as  to  avoid  making  any  noise ;  and  thus  on  All 
Saints'  day,  mass  was  said  for  the  first  time  by  Prior  Sharrock, 
and  next  day  again  mass  was  offered  up  for  the  holy  souls ; 
and  once  again  before  Christmas  were  they  accorded  the  boon 
of  assisting  at  the  holy  sacrifice.  In  the  sacristy  at  Downside 
is  preserved  a  neat  little  chalice  with  an  inscription  on  the 
base  recording  that  the  secular  and  regular  priests,  confined 
at  Doullens,  had  used  it  for  the  celebration  of  the  holy  sacri- 
fice during  the  days  of  their  imprisonment. 

Doullens  being  in  a  different  diocese  from  that  in  which 
Douay  was  situated,  the  confessors  had  no  faculties  to  hear 
confessions.  As  Christmas  approached,  they  felt  the  need  of 
supplying  this  deficiency,  and  four  of  the  boy-prisoners  under- 
took to  make  their  escape,  promising  to  make  their  way  first  of 
all  to  the  diocesan,  the  Bishop  of  Amiens,  then  in  hiding  in 
Tournay.  The  attempt  was  successful ;  the  necessary  faculties 
were  readily  granted,  and  the  reception  by  the  prisoners  of  a 
preconcerted  word  sent  back  by  their  more  fortunate  com- 
rades, assured  them  at  the  same  time  of  their  own  good  for- 
tune in  escaping  and  of  the  granting  of  the  coveted  faculties. 

Meanwhile,  on  November  9,  1793,  the  maire  and  municipal 
officials  of  Douay  received  an  order  from  the  Directory  of  the 
district  of  Douay  to  make  search  in  the  grounds  of  St.  Gre- 
gory's for  treasure  supposed  to  be  buried  therein;  but  there 
is  no  evidence  that  they  met  with  any  success.  This  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at ;  for  previously,  by  a  proces  verbal,  dated  April 
30,  1790,  Prior  Sharrock  had  declared  that  they  were  possessed 
of  "  aucun  meuble  precieux :  nous  n'avons  trouve  que  quel- 
ques  tableaux  ordinaires."     And  the  same  document  intimates 

114 


THE   ABANDONMENT   OF   DOUAY 

that  their  fixed  revenue  from  all  sources  had  amounted  yearly 
on  an  average  to  5567.19.3  (livres)  only;  and  that  the  quan- 
tity of  plate  they  possessed  sufficed  for  sixty  persons  only; 
while  they  found  in  the  safe  but  3500  livres;  "en  ce  compris 
les  pensions  de  pensionnaires  ecoliers,  qui  paient  trois  rnois 
d'avance." 

Shortly  after  the  commencement  of  1794,  ten  or  twelve, 
emboldened  by  the  successful  escape  of  their  comrades, 
followed  their  example  with  similar  good  luck ;  but  the 
diminished  numbers  were  some  four  months  later  not  only 
replenished  but  increased  by  the  addition  of  Dr.  Stapleton 
and  the  prisoners  from  St.  Omers.  In  this  way  a  whole  year 
was  spent,  until  the  sudden  downfall  of  Robespierre.  The 
relief  in  the  condition  of  the  Doullens  prisoners  was  at  once 
perceptible,  and  the  restrictions  from  which  they  had  hitherto 
suffered  were  somewhat  relaxed.  They  were  thus  emboldened 
to  present  an  earnest  petition  to  the  proper  authorities,  which, 
after  some  delay,  was  granted.  This  document  is  couched 
in  such  fearless  though  respectful  terms,  and  conveys  so 
graphic  a  picture  of  the  sufferings  that  they  had  endured, 
that  the  translation  of  it  here  given  will  vividly  bring  home 
to  us  the  realities  of  that  period.  It  has  never  hitherto  been 
made  public. 

"  To  Citizen  Merlin,  at  Douay.    ^ 

"  Doullens,  25  Frtutidor  {September  11,  1794). 
"  Citizen  ! — Though  your  occupations  are  many  and  im- 
portant, I  venture  to  intrude  upon  them  for  the  purpose  of 
directing  your  attention  for  a  moment  to  the  pitiable  con- 
dition to  which  some  hundred  youths,  together  with  their 
masters,  the  remnant  of  the  different  British  houses  formerly 
situated  at  Douay  and  St.  Omers,  now  find  themselves  re- 
duced. Driven  from  their  establishments  in  the  month  of 
August  of  last  year  by  different  decrees  of  their  respective 

115 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

departments,  for  a  time  wandering  here  and  there,  their  goods 
confiscated  by  virtue  of  a  decree  of  last  October,  locked  up 
for  some  days,  then  marched  from  prison  to  prison,  and  finally 
left  at  DouUens,  where  they  have  been  detained  for  several 
months  ;  they  appeal  to  your  sense  of  justice  and  to  your 
humanity.  While  not  wishing  to  complain  of  anything,  we 
feel  persuaded  that  we  have  not  been  treated  in  the  past  nor 
are  we  at  the  present  moment  being  treated  either  according 
to  the  letter  or  the  spirit  of  the  decrees  of  the  convention, 
nor  according  to  your  wishes.  We  were  brought  here  at  the 
commencement  of  last  winter  in  a  state  of  terrible  destitution, 
without  money  and  without  the  opportunity  of  procuring  any ; 
without  a  single  mattress,  without  linen,  exposed  to  all  the 
hardships  of  a  severe  winter,  without  any  support  either  for 
ourselves  or  for  our  numerous  pupils.  Huddled  together  in 
a  garret  open  to  rain  and  snow,  with  difficulty  obtaining  a 
little  straw  whereon  to  stretch  ourselves,  for  six  weeks  begging 
for  that  bread  which  you  allow  gratis  to  your  worst  criminals, 
and  for  which  we  were  told  we  would  have  to  pay.  These 
are  the  conditions  under  which  we  have  groaned  for  eleven 
months.  The  inevitable  result  of  such  a  state  of  things 
has  necessarily  been  the  sickness  of  many  and  the  death 
of  one  or  two.  We  could  not  obtain  even  the  simplest 
remedies  for  the  most  serious  cases.  But  why  need  I  go  on  ? 
I  know  that  this  picture  will  touch  your  feelings  ;  and  I  repeat 
that  I  can  never  believe  that  our  miserable  lot  was  conform- 
able to  the  wishes  of  the  convention.  You  will  gladly  find  out 
the  means  of  coming  to  our  aid,  and  I  think  you  will  take  it 
in  good  part  if  I  suggest  the  most  obvious.  What  is  there 
to  stand  in  the  way  of  allowing  us  to  betake  ourselves,  to- 
gether with  our  students,  beyond  the  borders  of  the  Republic  ? 
What  should  keep  us  here  now  that  our  goods  have  been 
confiscated  and  our  establishments  proscribed?  No  good 
can  accrue  from  our  detention,  no  harm  can  arise  from  our 

ii6 


THE   ABANDONMENT  OF    DOUAY 

release.  If,  however,  some  greater  reason,  unknown  to  us  and 
unimaginable,  is  urged  against  permission  for  our  departure, 
might  not  some  suitable  form  of  Hberty  be  granted  to  us? 
The  motives  which  caused  us  to  be  deprived  of  it  have  no 
longer  any  existence,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  fear  that  we 
should  abuse  it  if  granted.  Our  conduct  has  always  hitherto 
been,  and  always  will  be,  peaceable  and  worthy  of  commenda- 
tion. If  we  must  needs  still  be  kept  under  arrest,  at  least  let 
us  be  detained  in  one  of  our  own  houses  ;  above  all,  grant  us 
a  pittance  suited  to  our  losses  and  our  wants,  derived,  if  you 
think  fit,  from  the  funds  confiscated  from  us.  The  French 
RepubHc,  in  possessing  itself  of  our  goods,  acquires  at  one 
stroke,  independently  of  our  houses  and  the  lands  thereto 
belonging,  a  fixed  income  of  60,000  francs,  arising  from  diffe- 
rent capital  sums  derived  from  Great  Britain  and  placed  out 
in  your  public  funds.  Might  you  not  grant  us  from  this 
sum  a  modest  pension  till  such  time  as  leave  is  given  us  to 
withdraw  ourselves?  In  taking  possession  of  our  colleges 
you  will  have  found  therein  about  500  mattresses  and 
1000  coverlets.  Could  they  not — indeed,  should  they  not — 
provide  us  with  a  certain  number  of  these  ?  We  should  derive 
the  greatest  benefit  from  them,  for  at  this  very  moment  there 
prevails  amongst  us  a  contagious  sickness ;  and  you  are  aware 
how  rapidly  these  disorders  spread,  especially  amongst  youths 
confined  in  too  close  contact  with  one  another.  Two  have 
already  died,  others  are  in  great  danger,  and  yet  what  sort  of 
beds  are  they  constrained  to  use  ?  A  little  straw,  and  often 
the  bare  boards !  There  is  here  a  respectable  English  lady 
who  has  just  lost  her  son,  carried  off  in  a  few  days.  This 
delicate  mother  is  herself  ill  through  tending  her  child.  She 
was  forced  to  sleep  several  days  and  nights  on  the  boards 
for  want  of  straw.  The  father  asked  as  a  favour  that  he 
might  be  allowed  to  follow  his  son's  body  to  the  grave. 
This  favour  was  refused  him.     You,  citizen,  who  are  yourself 

117 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

a  father,  picture  to  yourself  the  pitiable  state  of  these  parents. 
Imagine  your  own  son  had  been  in  England,  whither  he  had 
gone  to  obtain  an  education  denied  him  in  his  own  country, 
when  the  war  between  France  and  Great  Britain  broke  out, 
and  that  he  was  incarcerated  and  almost  destitute  like  our 
students.  What  would  be  your  feelings?  What  would  be 
your  anguish  ?  Picture  to  yourself,  then,  the  parents  of  our 
youths,  of  whom  and  from  whom  they  have  not  heard  a 
syllable  for  so  many  months.  Come,  we  beseech  you,  to  our 
aid,  for  we  believe  that  it  is  easy  for  you  as  being  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Public  Safety  to  help  us." 

This  outspoken,  and  at  the  same  time  pathetic,  appeal  led 
to  a  correspondence  between  the  commissioners  of  civil 
administration  at  Paris  and  the  administrators  of  the  district 
of  Douay.  The  former,  writing  on  the  loth  Vendemiaire, 
an  3  (October  i,  1794)  state  that  as  Douay  was  sufficiently 
removed  from  the  theatre  of  war,  they  desire  the  authorities 
there  to  select  from  amongst  the  national  buildings  in  their 
town  a  house  of  detention  suitable  for  the  prisoners  referred 
to,  and  to  make  all  proper  arrangements  for  their  immediate 
reception,  adding  that  they  would  have  to  furnish  the  Benedic- 
tines with  a  complete  outfit  of  clothing,  fuel,  and  furniture, 
and  two  francs  each  a  day.  The  revolutionary  authorities  at 
Douay  replied  that  for  various  reasons  they  did  not  want  the 
monks  back  in  their  town,  and  that,  in  fact,  there  was  no  build- 
ing available  for  their  reception.  One  of  the  alleged  reasons 
is  worth  quoting  as  an  unconscious  and  unintended  tribute  to 
the  influence  they  had  formerly  exercised  on  the  townspeople 
through  the  school.  They  aver  of  the  monks  :  "  Que  leur  con- 
duite  a  Douay,  lors  qu'ils  y  etoient,  et  leur  opinion  n'ont  pas  peu 
contribue  a  pervertir  I'esprit  public,  notamment  parmi  les  jeunes 
gens."  The  central  authorities  paid  scant  attention  to  this 
splenetic  effusion,  and,  under  date  of  6th  Frimaire  (November 

118 


THE   ABANDONMENT   OF   DOUAY 

26,  1794),  they  sent  them  a  notification  to  the  effect  that  the 
prisoners  at  Doullens  had  already  started,  were  actually  on 
their  way  back,  and  were  to  be  confined  for  the  present  in 
the  buildings  of  the  Irish  college.  They  had  left  Doullens 
two  days  previously,  and  when  they  arrived  in  Douay  they 
were  allowed  to  take  up  their  quarters  once  more  in  their  old 
home.  But  what  a  change  met  their  gaze !  Their  beloved 
home,  which  had  sheltered  them  and  their  forefathers,  as  well 
as  the  hundreds  of  youths  entrusted  to  their  care  during  well- 
nigh  two  centuries,  had  been  desecrated.  The  abomination 
of  desolation  had  been  in  the  holy  place.  The  goddess  of 
Reason  had  for  some  time  been  worshipped  there,  where  for 
so  many  years  had  dwelt  the  Holy  of  Holies.  The  church  in 
which  the  daily  office  had  been  sung  for  more  than  a  century 
and  a  half  had  been  used  as  a  receptacle  for  bells  plundered 
from  various  churches,  to  be  melted  down  and  cast  into 
cannon ;  and  for  a  period  at  least,  by  an  order  dated 
February  5,  1794,  St.  Gregory's  had  served  as  a  prison 
wherein  were  incarcerated  the  local  aristocracy  till  they  could 
be  deported  to  Compiegne. 

The  monks,  though  treated  as  prisoners,  were  nevertheless 
enabled  to  resume  their  conventual  duties  with  some  degree 
of  regularity.  Not  in  the  church  alone  had  impiety  and  van- 
dalism done  their  ruinous  work.  The  splendid  library,  said 
by  one  authority  to  have  contained  80,000  volumes,  the  slow 
accumulation  and  growth  of  years,  was  scattered.  As  early  as 
1627,  Dom  Leander  Jones  told  Abbot  Caverel  that  "  multi- 
tudo  librorum  nostrorum  magna  est,  et  copia  selecta  " — that 
they  comprised  many  and  select  books.  This  huge  library 
must  have  been  the  one  that  belonged  to  the  college 
of  St.  Vaast,  to  which  Gregorians  would  have  had  free 
access;  for  in  the  inventory  made  in  1790  the  monastery 
library,  as  distinct  from  that  of  St.  Vaast,  is  stated  to  contain 
1 149  folio  volumes,  819  quartos,  1287  in  octavo,  and  1360  of 

119 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

smaller  sizes  ;  in  all  4615  volumes.  Some  of  these  still  exist 
in  the  public  library,  bearing  the  old  book-stamp  of  St. 
Gregory's ;  others  have  found  their  way  to  the  town  libraries 
of  Lille  and  Arras ;  while  many  were  torn  up  for  the  manu- 
facture of  cartridges.  A  very  few  found  their  way  to  Down- 
side, and  the  correspondence  of  Luke  Bellew  shews  that  many 
of  the  more  important  works  had  been  distributed  among 
trusty  friends  in  the  town  for  safe  keeping  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  revolutionary  troubles ;  but  there  is  no  means  now  of 
knowing  whether  they  ever  found  their  way  back  either  to  our 
library  or  to  the  local  public  collections. 

The  church  was  stripped  of  every  movable  thing  it  contained. 
Father  Lawson,  who  when  Prior  of  Downside  visited  Douay 
in  after  years  in  an  endeavour  to  take  possession  once  more  of 
the  property,  wrote  as  follows  from  Douay  to  Fr.  Henry  Parker 
at  Paris,  on  January  22,  1816  :  "  .  .  .  There  are  four  [of  our] 
paintings  in  the  Museum,  one  in  St.  Peter's  Church.  Our 
organ  is  in  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame;  our  high  altar  in 
the  Church  of  the  English  Friars  [now  known  as  that  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Jacques].  The  marble  flags  of  the  choir  are 
there  also,  the  flags  of  the  other  parts  of  the  church  in  other 
places.  M.  Boule  showed  me  them  all.  I  could  not  find  in 
Douay  the  large  painting  of  St.  Gregory  singing  mass,  which 
was  at  the  head  of  the  choir  against  the  window." 

Meanwhile,  the  unfortunate  remnant  of  the  once  flourishing 
establishment  found  itself  back  in  the  old  home,  knowing  that 
precise  orders  as  to  their  maintenance  had  been  issued,  while 
at  the  same  time  no  attention  was  being  paid  to  their  fulfil- 
ment. On  December  8,  accordingly,  we  find  them  memo- 
rialising the  local  authorities  as  to  their  immediate  needs, 
and  the  rights  they  had  acquired  under  the  terms  of  the  decree 
in  their  favour,  and  requesting  to  be  granted  a  speedy  chance 
of  avaihng  themselves  of  them.  Not  getting  an  immediate 
answer,  they  again  repeated  their  application  after  the  lapse 


THE   ABANDONMENT   OF    DOUAY 

of  a  fortnight^  with  the  result  that  by  the  first  week  of  the  new 
year  each  individual  was  provided  with  a  silk  tie,  an  overcoat 
{houpelande)^  a  vest,  a  pair  of  breeches,  a  hat,  a  pair  of  shoes, 
two  handkerchiefs  {inoiichoirs  de  nez),  two  shirts,  and  two  pairs 
of  socks. 

In  the  disturbed  state  of  affairs  in  France,  however,  it  was 
evident  that  Douay  could  no  longer  be  relied  upon  to  afford 
a  home,  nor  could  English  parents  be  expected  to  risk  the 
lives  and  liberties  of  their  sons  by  sending  them  there  for  their 
education.  If,  then,  the  work  of  the  past  was  to  be  resumed, 
it  would  have  to  be  done  elsewhere  ;  and  all  hearts  now  turned 
with  a  great  yearning  to  England.  The  severity  of  the  penal 
laws  had  of  late  years  been  mitigated,  and  it  was  hoped  that 
schools  and  even  religious  houses  might  be  permitted  to  exist 
on  the  soil  where  they  had  been  for  so  long  proscribed.  For 
rumours  were  already  in  the  air  of  Catholic  emancipation ; 
and  England  had  opened  her  arms  with  generous  sympathy, 
and,  in  response  to  the  sacred  claims  of  hospitality,  had  already 
received  large  numbers  of  the  French  emigre  clergy.  If  England 
had  shewn  herself  so  willing  to  help  and  receive  strangers, 
surely  she  would  not  reject  her  own  sons  !  So  the  poor  exiles 
argued;  and  thus  it  came  about  that  every  influence  was 
brought  to  bear  to  obtain  passports  authorising  them  to  betake 
themselves  to  England.  In  the  beginning  of  1795  the  Rev. 
Gregory  Stapleton,  President  of  St.  Omers  secular  school,  was 
allowed  to  journey  to  Paris,  and  there  presented  in  the  proper 
quarter  a  petition  for  the  release  of  the  members  of  the  two 
secular  colleges.  To  this  document  were  appended  the  signa- 
tures of  the  Benedictine  fathers,  without  any  distinguishing 
mark.  At  last,  after  many  repulses,  the  long-desired  per- 
mission was  obtained;  and  on  February  9,  1795,  an  order 
from  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  was  received,  allowing 
the  masters  and  pupils  of  the  English  schools  established  in 
Douay  and  St.  Omers  to  return   to  their  own  country,  and 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

empowering  the  local  magistrates  to  release  them  from  im- 
prisonment and  furnish  them  with  passports  to  leave  France. 
The  permits  were  made  out  for  ninety-two  individuals,  and, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  document,  they  were  to  make 
their  way  to  Calais  and  there  embark  on  a  neutral  vessel  for 
passage  across  the  Channel.  These  precious  passports  were 
received  at  Douay  on  the  19th  of  the  same  month.  With 
hearts  full  of  joy  and  hope  they  set  about  their  preparations 
for  the  homeward  journey  without  delay.  "  Post  tot  labores, 
post  tot  discrimina  rerum,  tendimus  in  Latium."  On  Feb- 
ruary 26  the  final  adieu  was  bid  to  Douay  both  by  the 
seculars  and  by  the  Benedictines,  and  as  they  had  shared  the 
hardships  of  imprisonment,  so  now  they  journeyed  in  company 
to  Bethune  and  to  St.  Omers,  where  they  heard  mass  on 
Sunday,  March  i,  and  thence  pushed  on  for  Calais,  which  they 
reached  the  same  evening.  The  following  day  they  crossed 
the  Channel  in  an  American  vessel,  and  landed  at  Dover  on 
the  afternoon  of  Monday,  March  2,  1795. 

Thus  came  to  an  end  the  long  exile  of  well-nigh  two  cen- 
turies, and  a  new  era  was  commenced.  The  history  of  St. 
Gregory's  from  that  day  to  the  present  time,  though  not  want- 
ing in  vicissitudes  grave  enough  to  cause  deep  anxiety  to  those 
entrusted  with  the  burthen  of  responsibility,  has  not  had  to 
record  another  crisis  so  serious  as  that  which  threatened  its 
continuance  when  the  French  Republicans  broke  up  the  estab- 
lishments of  the  seculars  and  of  the  Benedictines  and  of  the 
other  British  subjects  in  Douay.  Happier  circumstances  have 
surrounded  the  domicile  of  St.  Gregory's  on  English  soil ;  and 
the  position  it  has  secured  for  itself  in  the  estimation,  not  only 
of  its  friends  and  well-wishers,  but  also  of  strangers  to  the 
faith,  has  been  such  that  not  only  has  it  brought  no  discredit 
on  the  record  of  the  past,  but  has  enhanced  the  reputation 
won  under  conditions  hard  for  us  to  realise  in  these  days 
of  freedom. 


CHAPTER  V 

ACTON   BURNELL,  1795-1814 

Shelter  offered  by  the  Smythe  family — Tournay — Acton  Burnell — Anec- 
dotes relating  to  the  commencement  of  the  school  there — Early  pro- 
spectus— Prospects  and  proposals — Fear  of  a  French  invasion  and  a 
suggested  volunteer  cadet  corps  at  Acton  Burnell — Description  of  the 
chapel  there — Ideas  of  a  return  to  Douay,  and  condition  of  the  Douay 
property — Rev.  Chetwode  Eustace — Death  of  Sir  Edward  Smythe,  and 
consequent  urgency  of  finding  a  property  to  replace  Acton  Burnell — 
Search  for  a  suitable  property — Selection  and  purchase  of  Downside 
— Death  of  Prior  Kendal — The  migration  from  Acton  Burnell  to 
Downside. 

Monday,  March  2,  1795,  is  a  red-letter  day  in  the  calendar  of 
St.  Gregory's,  for  it  marks  the  parting  of  the  ways  in  its 
record.  The  night  of  persecution  and  exile  from  that  date 
began  to  glide  into  the  dawn  of  a  partial  freedom,  which  in 
its  turn  passed  into  the  brightness  of  the  noonday  of  the 
Catholic  revival.  In  that  revival  St.  Gregory's  has  played  its 
part;  and  whether  by  the  rulers  that  Alma  Mater  has  fur- 
nished to  the  Church  or  by  its  share  in  the  work  of  education, 
it  has  added  to  its  record  during  the  nineteenth  century. 

In  1795  bigoted  prejudice  and  ignorance  both  of  the 
teaching  and  of  the  lives  of  the  Catholic  clergy  were  as  marked 
a  feature  of  the  mind  of  the  average  Englishman  as  they  had 
been  any  time  during  the  eighteenth  century.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  a  growing  tendency  towards  granting  greater  tolera- 
tion to  the  Catholic  subjects  of  his  Britannic  Majesty ;  added 
to  which,  horror  at  the  excesses  of  the  Reign  of  Terror  and 

123 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

pity  for  its  outcast  victims  led  the  nation  to  extend  its  arms  in 
welcome  to  the  unfortunate  French  refugees  who  fled  for 
safety  and  protection  to  our  hospitable  shores.  At  one 
time  some  700  emigre  priests  and  others  were  lodged 
and  cared  for  at  Government  expense  in  Winchester  Gaol, 
which  had  been  hastily  prepared  for  their  accommodation. 
Under  such  circumstances  no  distinction  was  made  between 
Frenchmen  and  Englishmen ;  and  George  III.  himself  is  well 
known  to  have  taken  a  personal  interest  in  the  housing  of  a 
community  of  Benedictine  nuns,  amongst  whom  were  several 
English  ladies,  which  landed  while  he  was  at  Weymouth. 
This  community  is  now  settled  at  Princethorpe,  in  Warwick- 
shire. 

At  such  a  propitious  moment  St.  Gregory's  was  transferred, 
temporarily  as  was  then  thought,  from  Douay  to  England  ; 
and,  by  the  generosity  of  an  old  Gregorian,  was  opportunely 
sheltered  when  the  monks  were  practically  unable  to  provide 
for  themselves. 

This  generous  benefactor  towards  his  old  school  was  Sir 
Edward  Smythe,  fifth  baronet,  of  Eshe  in  the  county  of 
Durham,  of  Acton  Burnell  in  Shropshire,  and  (through  his 
wife)  of  Wootton  Hall  in  Warwickshire.  Born  on  May  21, 
1758,  he,  like  his  father  and  grandfather  and  many  other 
relatives,  was  sent  to  St.  Gregory's  for  his  education.  He 
entered  the  school  about  1770  :  the  precise  date  is  lost  with 
the  books  that  registered  it ;  but  his  admission  to  the  sodality 
took  place  on  December  8,  1772.  Three  years  later  he  had 
so  far  won  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-students  as  by  their  suf- 
frages to  be  elected  king  for  the  Christmas  of  1775.  His 
departure  from  Douay  and  his  entrance  into  the  larger  world 
would  have  taken  place  not  long  after,  certainly  not  later  than 
1777.  On  October  15,  1781,  he  married  Catherine  Maria, 
daughter  and  heiress  of  Peter  Holford,  of  Wootton  Hall,  co. 
Warwick,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  had  an  only  son  and  heir.     His 

124 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

father-in-law,  Peter  Holford,  was  descended  from  a  younger 
branch  of  the  Holfords  of  Holford,  in  Cheshire,  and  married 
Constantia,  the  widow  of  John  Wright,  of  Kelvedon,  in  Essex, 
Esq.  (himself  an  old  Gregorian),  and  daughter  of  Francis 
Smith,  of  Ashton,  in  Shropshire,  Esq.,  and  his  wife  Catherine 
Southcott.  This  Francis  Smith  had  been  as  a  boy  at  St. 
Gregory's,  having  been  resident  there  about  1743,  together  with 
his  brother  Charles,  and  later  had  married  the  sister  of  one  of  his 
school  companions.  Peter  Holford  was  a  convert.  He  and 
his  sister  Elizabeth  were  instructed,  received  into  the  Church, 
and  confirmed  by  Bishop  Challoner.  The  young  converts 
then  went  abroad,  and  Peter,  placing  his  sister  in  a  convent, 
went  himself  to  Douay,  and  stayed  for  some  time  as  a  "  con- 
victor  "  at  St.  Gregory's.  Here  probably  he  first  became 
acquainted  with  the  Smythe  family ;  and  just  as  he  had  in- 
herited Wootton  Hall  through  his  wife,  heiress  of  the  Smiths, 
Viscounts  Carrington,  so  too  the  same  estates  passed  into  the 
possession  of  the  Smythes  through  his  only  surviving  child ; 
and  it  was  probably  due  to  this  circumstance  that  Sir  Edward 
was  able  to  offer  the  hospitality  of  his  Shropshire  seat  to 
the  monks  from  Douay,  lodging  them  in  a  portion  of  his 
own  mansion  there.  He  even  carried  his  generosity  so  far  as 
to  add  a  wing  and  to  set  aside  a  portion  of  the  park  that 
they  might  open  a  school  for  boys,  and  thus  carry  on  the 
good  work  associated  with  their  sojourn  at,  Douay,  and 
temporarily  brought  to  an  end  by  the  troubles  recounted  in 
the  previous  chapter. 

In  common  with  all  the  other  Catholics  of  England,  Sir 
Edward  Smythe  had  watched  with  painful  concern  the  pro- 
gress of  anarchy  in  France,  the  consequent  onslaught  on 
religion  and  religious  institutions,  and  in  particular  the  dire 
peril  that  threatened  his  old  school  and  his  revered  masters. 
When  the  crash  came  he  had  already  made  his  generous  offer 
to  St.  Gregory's  through  Dom  Bede  Bennet.     But  he  did  not 

125 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

stand  alone  in  this,  as  the  following  letter  clearly  shews. 
It  was  written  to  Dom  Bede  Bennet  by  Dom  Richard  Kendal 
after  he  had  escaped  with  a  party  of  boys  from  Esquerchin,  and 
was  remaining  in  a  house  at  Tournay,  waiting  to  see  if  a  more 
favourable  turn  would  permit  of  their  resuming  the  old  life  at 
Douay.  The  whole  letter  is  full  of  interest  and  of  useful  and 
quaint  details. 

"  Tournay,  November  8,  1793. 

"  Dear  Sir, — I  received  yours  yesterday,  communicated 
the  contents  of  it  to  Mr.  Wilks,  who  was  then  with  me,  and 
consulted  whether  he  thought  it  necessary  that  I  should 
immediately  comply  with  your  order.  He  replied  that  con- 
sidering the  security  we  were  likely  to  enjoy  for  some  weeks, 
we  should  do  well  to  remain  united  together  in  our  present 
abode  till  Mr.  Cowley  [the  president],  you,  and  himself  should 
find,  if  possible,  a  more  desirable  settlement  for  us,  whether  in 
England  or  in  this  country.  He  left  us  this  morning  to 
return  to  the  nuns  at  Bruxelles,  and  is  going  to  interest  him- 
self most  vigorously  in  order  to  procure  us  a  temporal,  and 
should  circumstances  demand  it,  a  permanent  establishment. 
He  had,  before  making  us  his  visit,  applied  himself  to  some 
member  of  the  States,  and  found  Lalain  and  Mr.  Selby  [both 
old  Gregorians]  have  been  very  zealous  in  our  behalf.  The 
concern  which  Mr.  Wilks  shews  for  us  is  not  confined  to  this. 
He  has  wrote  to  his  friends  in  England,  as  he  tells  me,  to 
consult  about  the  possibility  of  an  establishment  in  our  native 
country.  I  believe,  however,  that  you  have  already  provided 
for  it.  The  said  Mr.  Wilks  writes  by  the  next  post  to  Mr. 
Cowley.  All  this  seriously  considered,  I  have  judged  the 
most  proper  to  wait  for  your  answer  to  this  before  leaving 
Tournay.  I  am  resolved  to  comply  with  what  you  and 
superiors  shall  prescribe,  and  only  remain  here  for  your 
answer  to  this.     I  drew  on  you  yesterday  for  ;£"ioo  sterling 

126 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

to  the  order  of  Mr.  John  Selby.  This  sum  would  not  have 
been  necessary  were  it  not  for  some  great  expenses  we  were  at 
on  entering  this  country.  We  were  advised  by  a  great  friend 
of  Mr.  Sharrock  to  buy  our  mattresses,  blankets,  and  sheets, 
and  by  no  means  to  hire  them.  These  articles  alone,  twelve 
as  we  were  in  number,  cost  us  nearly  ;£'5o.  We  can,  when 
we  leave  here,  sell  them  again,  or,  if  we  return  to  Douay,  take 
them  there  with  us.  I  drew  seventeen  guineas  from  Douay 
since  leaving  that  town  :  these  guineas  were  paid  by  me  to 
the  guide  who  conducted  twelve  of  St.  Gregory's  and  five  of 
the  English  college  from  France  into  these  parts — a  dear 
expedition ;  however,  some  people  paid  more  than  ourselves 
for  the  same  guide.  The  above  five  guineas,  which  I  advanced 
in  payment  for  the  passage  of  the  five  collegians,  with  sixteen 
other  guineas  which  I  lent  to  Mr.  Coom(b)s  and  some  other 
gentlemen  of  the  English  college  were,  as  they  promised,  to  be 
remitted  to  you.  Many  other  necessary  expenses  for  clothes 
have  run  away  with  a  deal  of  money.  I  left  240  louis  d'ors  in 
France,  not,  as  you  may  well  imagine,  at  the  convent,  but  in 
sure  hands,  known  by  Mr.  Sharrock.  I  am  almost  certain 
that  by  reason  of  this  money  he  will  not  for  this  long  time 
hence  be  in  want.  The  person  who  has  the  money  has  com- 
munication with  the  prior  (who,  together  with  the  rest  of  our 
distressed  brethren,  are  in  a  citadel  six  leagues  beyond  Arras). 
There  was  a  report  that  they  were  entered  farther  into  the 
interior  of  France,  but  this  is  false.  Servants  are  allowed  to 
visit  them  and  carry  them  what  they  have  need  of.  Acquaint 
Mr.  Farquarson,  the  President  of  the  Scotch  college  at 
Douay,  that  the  young  woman  he  employed  in  conveying  a 
letter  and  some  assignats  into  France,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  French  troops  on  passing  the  frontiers  into  that  country. 
She  was  stripped  by  them  to  her  very  shirt,  Mr.  Farquarson's 
letter  to  Mons.  Chevalier  found  on  her,  with  several  others, 
and  between  3  or  4000  livres  in  paper.     She  has  had,  how- 

127 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

ever,  the  happiness  to  escape  out  of  the  hands  of  her  guards 
after  being  in  confinement  twenty-four  hours,  and  is  at  present 
in  this  country.  Mons.  Deroc  dined  with  us  yesterday,  drunk 
punch  with  us,  and  speaks  but  of  your  kindnesses  to  him  and 
his  confreres.  He  sends  you  his  compliments.  All  with  me 
join  in  testifying  their  profound  respect  for  you,  and  would  be 
overjoyed  to  see  you. — I  remain,  dear  sir,  most  sincerely,  your 
most  obdt.  humble  servant,  R.  Kendall. 

'' P.S. — No  news  as  yet  of  Mr.  Walker,  D.  James,  and  his 
nuns.  I  learn  from  accounts  from  Bruges  that  alarms  were 
so  great  that  the  return  of  P.  Marsh,  &c.,  to  England  is 
excusable." 

The  postscript  recalls  that  the  fathers  of  St.  Lawrence's  at 
Dieulouard  had  also  to  undergo  their  share  of  the  troubles 
which  were  telling  so  heavily  on  the  sister  house  of  St.  Gregory's. 
They,  too,  had  to  fly  from  their  monastery,  but,  fortunately  for 
themselves,  though  they  passed  through  many  hardships,  yet 
as  a  body  they  escaped  imprisonment,  and  made  their  way  to 
England  much  sooner  than  their  Douay  brethren,  but,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  penniless.  Here  they  heard  of  Sir 
Edward  Smythe's  generous  offer  to  his  old  Gregorian  masters  ; 
and  knowing  that  the  Douay  community  probably  would  not 
for  a  long  time  be  in  a  position  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  they 
threw  themselves  on  his  kindness  and  compassion,  and  frankly 
begged  his  hospitality  till  the  Douay  fathers  should  be  free. 
Sir  Edward  acceded  to  their  petition  on  certain  conditions, 
which  are  recorded  in  the  following  letter;  and  thus  when 
Prior  Sharrock  at  length  took  up  his  abode  with  his  com- 
munity at  Acton  Burnell,  the  unusual  sight  was  presented  of 
two  distinct  communities  being  in  residence  for  a  time  under 
one  roof. 

Immediately  on  landing  in  England,  Prior  Sharrock  wrote 
to  Lady  Smythe  acquainting  her  of  the  fact;  and   the  letter 

128 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

reached  its  destination  at  Wootton  Hall  on  March  12,  the 
feast  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great.  Whereupon  Sir  Edward  at 
once  addressed  the  following  letter  to  D.  Bede  Bennet  : — 

"  Wootton,  March  y  12M,  1795. 

"  Dr  Sir, — Mr.  Sharrock's  letter  to  Lady  Smythe  arrived 
here  this  morning,  and  made  us  all  very  happy  to  find  he  was 
at  length  got  safe  into  the  true  land  of  Liberty  and  out  of  the 
jaws  of  those  Infernal  Regicides.  It  also  makes  us  extremely 
happy  to  find  we  shall  so  soon  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
him  at  Wootton.  ...  I  hope  you  recollect  in  a  letter  I  wrote 
to  you  some  time  ago  that  I  meant  Acton  Burnell  for  the 
monks  of  Douay,  and  as  now  Mr.  Sharrock  and  his  confreres 
are  come  over,  the  monks  of  Dieulouard  must  resign  it  to 
them  and  seek  another  habitation,  for  it  was  only  on  that  con- 
dition that  I  consented  to  their  going  thither.  .  .  .  &c.  ..." 

The  conditions,  clearly  defined  in  this  letter,  made  it  in- 
cumbent on  the  members  of  St.  Lawrence's  to  seek  a  new 
residence ;  and  after  some  months  spent  in  deciding  upon  a 
suitable  locality  and  moving  to  various  spots  in  Cheshire  and 
Lancashire,  they  finally,  in  1803,  settled  at  Ampleforth,  near 
Gilling  Castle,  Yorkshire. 

Here,  then,  in  the  truly  sylvan  retreat  of  Acton  Burnell, 
Prior  Sharrock  reunited  his  scattered  community,  and  forth- 
with began  anew  to  lay  foundations  of  a  work  meant  to  serve 
not  only  for  their  own  needs,  but  for  those  who  were  to  come 
after  them.  How  little  he  could  then  realise,  in  the  hour  of 
escape  from  recent  trials,  what  development  and  increase  the 
future,  nay,  the  near  future,  had  in  store,  is  shewn  by  a  letter 
in  the  archives  addressed  by  him  to  Prior  Marsh  of  St.  Law- 
rence's combating  a  proposal  made  by  the  latter  to  unite  the 
two  communities.  In  this  letter,  by  way  of  argument,  he 
makes  what  he  considered  a  preposterous  supposition.    "  Now, 

129  I 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

I  will  make  a  very  favourable  supposition.  Had  we  [i.e.  the 
united  communities  and  schools]  50  scholars  at  ;£"3o  per 
annum  (we  shall  never  have  it — but  I  will  suppose  the  case), 
do  you  really  think  that  when  all  expenses  are  fairly  calculated 
and  every  deduction  fairly  made,  the  neat  [nett]  profits  would 
amount  to  much  above  5  p.c,  or  to  £^'^00  per  annum?  " 

Once  settled  at  Acton  Burnell,  the  religious  life  was  resumed 
as  far  as  circumstances  would  permit,  but  much  curtailed  of 


ACTON     BURNELL    HALL 
{The  seat  of  Sir  Walter  S  my  the,  Bart.) 

its  outward  appearances.  These  details  do  not  concern  this 
narrative,  but  along  with  the  community  life  the  work  of  con- 
ducting the  school  was  at  once  resumed ;  and  on  the  door  of 
their  residence  a  brass  plate  bore  the  legend,  "  Acton  Burnell 
College."  It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  precise  number  of 
boys  that  then  constituted  the  "  college,"  but  the  number 
must  have  been  extremely  limited,  for  in  the  autumn  of  1798 
the  total  only  amounted  to  seven.  The  following  extract 
from  a  letter  gives  this  information,  as  well  as  other  domestic 

130 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

details,  trivial  of  themselves,  yet  valuable  for  the  contrast  they 
afford  with  the  past  and  the  future  : — 

(Prior  Sharrock  to  Dom  A.  Lorymer.) 

"Acton  B',  October  7,  1798. 
"...  Besides  your  nephew  we  have  six  little  boys,  includ- 
ing Edward  Smythe.  They  seem  to  promise  very  well,  and 
all  seem  pleased  with  them.  Howarden  is  their  master, 
Eldridge  their  prefect.  Frank  \i.e.  Br.  Francis  Quince]  has 
fitted  up  a  neat  dormitory  for  them.  They  dine  &  sup  before 
the  Religious,  with  whom  they  have  as  little  communication 
as  well  can  be.  They  have  their  limits  assigned  them,  & 
their  Prefect  or  Master  is  always  with  them." 

One  boy  who  had  been  under  their  care  at  Douay  certainly 
returned  to  them  at  Acton  Burnell.  This  was  John  Kaye, 
and  he  was  accompanied  by  a  younger  brother,  Charles,  who 
left  Acton  Burnell  on  February  14,  1798.  By  the  end  of  that 
year  things  had  assumed  so  normal  an  appearance  that  it  was 
deemed  proper  to  publicly  advertise  the  school  in  the  Catholic 
Directory  for  1799 — then  called  the  "  Laity's  Directory."  The 
following  quaint  prospectus  may  therein  be  seen  : — 

"  AcTONBURNAL,  near  Shrewsbury,  Salop,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Rev.  J.  Sharrock,  lately  of  St.  Gregory's, 
Douay. 

"Sir  Edward  Smythe,  with  his  usual  benevolence,  having 
afforded  the  members  of  St.  Gregory,  after  their  expulsion 
from  their  College  at  Douay,  an  asylum  at  Actonburnal,  They 
admit  a  few  scholars,  from  the  age  of  ten  to  fourteen,  who  are 
instructed  in  such  branches  of  religious,  classical,  and  other 
useful  sciences,  as  are  usually  taught  in  the  most  approved 
Catholic  Schools.  The  annual  pension  is  twenty -five 
POUNDS  ;  in  which  sum  Clothing  and  other  articles  commonly 
called  extraordinaries  are  not  included." 

131 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

While  occupied  with  the  subject  of  early  prospectuses,  it 
may  be  opportune  to  mention  here  that  by  1808  the  pension 
had  been  raised  to  ^30  for  each  boy,  by  no  means  an  exorbi- 
tant sum ;  and  inquirers  for  further  particulars  were  referred 
to  "  Rev.  Mr.  Lorymer,  Sardinian  House,  Lincoln's  Inn 
Fields,"  or  to  Prior  Sharrock,  at  Acton  Burnell.  Four  years 
later  the  terms  had  been  advanced  to  the  still  moderate  figure 
of  "40  guineas  per  ann.,  to  be  paid  half  yearly  in  advance." 
The  London  representative  and  agent  had  by  then  moved 
back  to  "  39  Gloucester  Street,  Queen  Square,"  the  former 
residence  of  D.  Bede  Bennet,  who  had  died  there  in  the 
year  1800. 

The  correspondence  between  Prior  Sharrock  and  his 
London  procurator,  Fr.  Lorymer,  contains  some  quaint 
touches  of  human  nature.  Thus  Fr.  Lorymer  was  being 
constantly  besought  either  by  the  prior  or  some  of  the 
community  at  Acton  Burnell  to  keep  his  eye  on  bookstalls 
and  catalogues  with  a  view  to  securing  cheap  bargains  in 
the  classics  for  school  use;  and  much  money  was  spent 
in  this  way  on  their  purchase  and  on  carriage  by  the  Shrews- 
bury coach.  Whenever  a  visitor  travelled  from  London  to 
Shrewsbury,  he  or  she  would  almost  invariably  be  com- 
missioned to  take  charge  of  a  parcel  of  books  or  other 
articles,  for  if  included  in  passenger's  luggage  so  much  was 
saved ;  and  in  those  days,  when  a  letter  from  Acton  Burnell 
to  London  cost  yd.  for  postage,  and  the  community  was  none 
too  rich,  every  penny  saved  was  a  matter  of  consideration. 
Again,  certain  susceptibilities  had  to  be  considered.  Fr. 
Lorymer,  writing  to  the  prior  on  April  10,  1797,  makes 
mention  of  a  parcel  of  books  he  was  then  despatching,  and 
thus  continues  :  "  I  should  be  glad  if  you  could  send  me  a 
two  pound  note  by  Mr.  Barber  to  pay  your  Book-commissions, 
that  I  may  not  be  under  the  necessity  of  applying  to  my  friend 
Mr.  B[ennet]  who  often  growls  at  those  expenses.     You  know 

132 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

he  is  no  Bookman,  so  that  he  grudges  every  expense  on  that 
head.  Mr.  Barber  must  not  give  it  me  in  his  presence.  ..." 
Amongst  other  school  paraphernaha,  the  masters  at  Acton 
Burnell  found  themselves  ill  provided  with  maps,  and  during 
some  months  they  constantly  besought  Fr.  Lorymer  to  procure 
them  some  good  up-to-date  atlases.  Aware  of  the  ways  of 
boys,  more  than  once  he  wrote  back  suggesting  the  propriety 
of  using  old  atlases,  as  the  boys  would  only  spoil  the  good 
and  expensive  modern  ones,  and  would  get  quite  sufficient 
information  out  of  the  older  ones,  if  only  they  would  assimilate 
the  information  therein  contained.  To  judge  by  the  variety  of 
the  commissions  he  was  requested  to  execute,  a  most  com- 
mendable activity  characterised  the  struggling  school  at  Acton 
Burnell.  For  example,  Fr.  Lorymer  wrote  to  Prior  Sharrock 
on  May  9,  1799  :  "  .  .  .  Please  to  tell  Mr.  Deday  that  .  .  . 
he  sealed  his  letter  so  badly  that  I  could  not  make  out  whether 
you  wished  to  have  a  serpent  or  a  Bass.  A  serpent  new  would 
cost  you  at  least  7  guineas  &  there  would  be  very  Httle  chance 
to  meet  with  a  second-hand  one.  A  Double  Bass  new  would 
come  to  15  guineas,  and  a  second-hand  one  to  12  if  tolerably 
good.  Mr.  Bennet  has  a  small  common  bass  belonging  to  the 
body,  it  is  lent  at  present  to  a  French  Gentleman,  but  may  be 
got  in  case  it  should  suit  you.  I  saw  a  nice  moveable  organ 
which  would  do  very  well  for  such  a  chapel  as  I  imagine  yours 
will  be,  about  the  size,  but  a  little  higher  than  the  Cedar  chest 
which  stands,  if  I  recollect  well,  in  the  room  over  the  kitchen. 
The  price  is  30  guineas,  but  then  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
ornament  about  it.  Were  one  to  be  made  more  plain  it  would 
not  amount  I  dare  say,  to  more  than  ^£"20.  Sir  Edward  might 
buy  it  as  a  proper  piece  of  furniture  for  the  Chapel,  and  make 
his  son  learn  to  play  upon  it.  .  .  ."  This  was  only  in  keeping 
with  the  love  of  music  traditional  in  an  institution  so  com- 
pletely bound  up  with  the  music  of  the  Church  under  the 
patronage  of  St.  Gregory.    And  this  spirit,  moreover,  had  been 

133 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

fostered  by  the  enlightened  mind  and  cultivated  taste  of  Prior 
Augustine  Moore.  In  view  of  the  perennial  controversy  in 
the  Catholic  journals  anent  the  question  of  what  music  is 
suitable  for  our  churches,  the  following  letter  written  by  Fr. 
Joseph  Eldridge,  in  the  name  of  the  prior,  to  D.  Anselm 
Lorymer,  may  be  of  interest.  The  latter  had  applied,  on 
behalf  of  Messrs.  Keating,  the  publishers,  for  permission  to 
produce  some  of  the  music  peculiar  to  St.  Gregory's.  The 
diversity  of  opinions  which  characterises  our  modern  con- 
troversialists in  this  particular  field  of  acrimonious  dispute 
was  not  absent  from  the  polemics  of  the  opening  of  last 
century. 

"  October  3,  1806. 

"  Dear  Sir, — Mr.  Sharrock  has  no  objection  at  all  to  cir- 
culating either  our  Gradual  or  any  part  of  Faboulier's  music, 
wherever  you  really  think  it  may  be  of  service  to  the  Catholic 
public.  I  must  say  however,  that  none  of  us  here  have  any 
very  great  opinion  of  your  speculation,  altho'  you  seem  to  be 
so  sanguine  and  even  eloquent  on  the  subject.  We  are  pretty 
well  convinced  that  you  would  not  be  able  to  introduce  our 
song,  whatever  may  be  its  merits,  which  are  certainly  great, 
into  a  dozen  Chapels  althro'  England.  The  taste  of  our 
Catholics  in  general  for  Church  music,  particularly  with 
yours  in  London,  is  [too]  vitiated,  or  perhaps  rather  totally 
corrupted,  by  opera  music  and  fiddling  jigs  ever  to  relish  Fa- 
boulier's serious,  grave,  I  may  say  majestic  tones.  We  have 
proof  of  it  in  some  degree  even  at  Acton  Burnell,  where  our 
good  people  of  Mr.  Kendal's  congregation,  [it]  seemed,  at  least 
at  first,  would  have  been  as  much  pleased  with  a  cow  horn  as 
with  our  most  esteemed  music.  If  however  Keating  wishes 
to  undertake  the  printing  of  our  Graduals  &c.  at  his  own 
expense,  and  would  furnish  us  with  a  given  number  of  copies 
gratis,  he  is  welcome  to  do  it.  .  .  ." 

134 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

It  is  clear  that  the  energies  of  Gregorians  were  not  confined 
solely  to  vocal  music,  as  we  have  already  observed  the  solici- 
tude about  the  acquisition  of  "  serpents  "  and  "  basses,"  pre- 
sumably for  ordinary  Sunday  use  in  the  chapel,  or  even  for 
the  more  mundane  purpose  of  strengthening  the  band.  In- 
strumental music  had  a  charm  for  old  St.  Gregory's  ;  for  the 
old  Douay  account-books  furnish  instances  of  the  purchase 
or  repair  of  various  forms  of  wind  and  string  instruments. 

The  school  in  1798  consisted  of  but  seven  boys;  by  the 
end  of  August  1800  they  mustered  twelve  all  told.  Progress 
was  slow,  and  hope  of  better  days  seemed  far  enough  off,  for 
only  three  of  these  paid  the  full  pension  of  ;^25,  the  rest 
paying  "  scarcely  half,"  so  that  it  was  a  daily  struggle  to  make 
both  ends  meet,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  despondent 
letters  that  accompany  D.  Bede  Bennet's  half-yearly  statement 
of  accounts.  Both  he  and  his  successor  had  to  incur  legal 
expenses  for  the  recovery  of  outstanding  school  debts  to  a 
very  considerable  amount,  dating  back  in  some  cases  twenty 
years. 

In  the  autumn  of  1803,  D.  Richard  Kendal  wrote  exult- 
ingly  to  D.  Lorymer  about  the  increase  of  numbers  in  the 
school — they  had  actually  under  their  charge  seventeen  boys. 
At  the  commencement  of  1805  the  number  of  boys  still  stood 
at  seventeen,  but  a  few  weeks  later  the  prior  wrote  to  D. 
Lorymer,  stating  :  "I  expect  another  from  Mr  T.  Lawson, 
who  with  the  one  you  mention,  would  run  up  the  number 
to  nineteen."  Notwithstanding  the  fewness  of  the  numbers, 
however,  there  is  evidence  that  they  were  quite  alert  and 
up-to-date ;  and  after  their  bitter  experience  at  the  hands  of 
the  French  republicans,  they  fully  realised  the  inconveniences 
that  might  follow  any  invasion  of  England  by  Bonaparte,  as 
our  papers  in  the  archives  consistently  style  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  I.  Hence,  they  were  keen  to  see  any  scheme  for 
the   invasion   of  our   shores   frustrated,  and   the   excitement 

135 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

prevailing  throughout  England  had  a  faithful  local  reflex  in 
their  out-of-the-way  corner  of  the  world  at  Acton  Burnell. 
The  fever  of  the  volunteer  movement  of  that  period  is  clearly 
discernible,  and  amongst  other  items  of  information  preserved 
to  us  is  one  in  a  letter  from  Sir  Edward  Smythe  stating  he 
had  just  received  from  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  the  county 
a  commission  in  the  local  volunteer  corps.  This  was  a 
breaking  down  of  the  hitherto  impenetrable  barrier  of  the 
penal  statutes,  against  Catholics  holding  military  commissions, 
brought  about  by  the  stress  of  imminent  danger.  In  view  of 
the  recent  movement  for  increasing  cadet  corps  attachable  to 
volunteer  battalions,  it  is  of  more  than  passing  interest  to 
learn  that  D.  Lorymer  was  a  century  before  the  time  by 
suggesting  a  very  similar  plan  to  Prior  Sharrock  on  July  27, 
1803,  in  the  following  words  :  ".  .  .  What  will  you  do  about 
complying  with  the  new  Bill  ordering  almost  everybody  to 
turn  out  to  exercise  ?  Everybody  here  are  entering  associa- 
tions. You  must  put  your  young  people  into  Sir  Edward's 
corps.  ..."  Will  his  words  find  a  response  a  century  later, 
when  the  dangers  are  real  enough,  though  not  perhaps  loom- 
ing so  large  ? 

Insignificant  as  the  increase  of  numbers  may  appear  to  us 
at  this  date,  it  was  considerable  as  compared  with  what  had 
been  dared  to  be  hoped  for  when  Douay  was  abandoned. 
So  promising,  indeed,  was  the  prospect,  that  Sir  Edward 
actually  added  a  wing  to  his  house  for  the  better  accommo- 
dation of  the  increasing  numbers.  This  addition  projected 
sideways  from  the  portico  of  the  mansion.  And  for  the  same 
reason  the  baronet  and  his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Holford,  under- 
took the  building  of  a  chapel  adjoining  the  mansion  for  the 
use  of  themselves,  the  monks,  the  school  dependent  upon 
them,  and  the  neighbouring  Catholics.  This  work  was  begun 
in  the  spring  of  1799,  and  when  completed,  it  must  have  pre- 
sented a  pleasing  and  imposing  appearance  in  those  days  of 

136 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

small  beginnings ;  although  in  these  days  of  expanded  ideas 
in  the  matter  of  church  building  and  grandeur  of  decoration 
and  appointments,  the  simplicity  of  the  past  would  be  despised. 
It  was  some  five  years  before  its  decoration  was  fully  completed; 
and  the  following  interesting  description  of  its  appearance,  as 
penned  by  Fr.  Joseph  Eldridge  for  the  information  of  Dom 
Lorymer  (December  21,  1804),  betrays  a  satisfaction  and 
pride  in  the  result  which  is  refreshing  in  its  simplicity.  The 
humorous  malice  of  the  writer's  criticism  of  Mr.  Holford's 
monument  should  not  be  missed. 

"...  You  have,  I  daresay,  been  informed  from  some 
quarter  or  other,  that  our  chapel  has  been  painted ;  but 
whether  you  have  had  a  particular  description  I  think  is  not 
so  certain.  I  shall  venture  therefore  to  describe  it  to  you, 
not  doubting,  if  you  have  not  already  had  an  account  of  it, 
that  it  will  be  very  agreeable. 

"  The  walls  are  painted  a  species  of  blue,  in  my  opinion 
extremely  neat  and  elegant.  The  cracks  are  all  filled  up  in 
the  ceiling  which  with  the  small  arch  that  goes  all  round  the 
top  of  the  chapel  is  of  a  plain  white.  The  cornish  is  of  the 
same  colour.  About  3  or  4  feet  from  the  floor  runs  a  white 
moulding  below  which  the  wall  is  painted  of  a  yellow  or  a  stone 
colour,  I  think  they  call  it.  The  board  that  runs  round  the 
bottom  of  the  wall  is  as  usual  of  a  dark  colour. 

"  The  benches,  pews,  and  choir  are  painted  in  imitation  of 
oak.  The  doors,  pulpit,  and  organ  are  painted  mahogany. 
The  pillars  are  plain  white  with  gilded  capitals  and  bases. 
The  flowers  that  fill  up  the  squares,  you  may  recollect,  in  [the] 
arch  of  the  alcove  are  gilt,  and  the  parts  of  the  square  the 
flower  does  not  cover,  are  painted  of  a  dark  violet :  this  sets 
off  the  gilded  flower  greatly,  and  has  a  very  pretty  effect.  The 
top  of  the  alcove  is  a  heaven  in  which  are  the  heads  of  eight 
angels  not  altogether  daubs  yet  not  so  elegantly  executed  but 
I  could  dispense  with  their  presence.     They  are  those  small 

137 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

angels,  mere  heads  with  a  pair  of  wings  fixt  to  their  necks. 
The  cornish  or  moulding  which  is  placed  below  the  heaven 
as  I  may  say  of  the  alcove  is  gilt,  from  whence  hang  two 
crimson  velvet  curtains  with  gold  fringe  and  golden  tassels,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  picture.  The  rest  of  the  alcove  is  of  the 
same  colour  with  the  walls  of  the  chapel.  The  curtains  you 
must  observe  are  only  painted  curtains.  They  are  now  putting 
a  stove  to  warm  the  chapel.  The  fire  will  be  made  on  the 
outside  of  the  chapel,  down  that  area  or  drain  round  which 
is  the  iron  rails.  The  heat  will  be  communicated  to  the 
Chapel  by  means  of  ftews.  I  think  it  is  a  pity  they  do  not 
make  the  fire  in  the  little  room  adjoining  the  Chapel.  The 
people  coming  to  chapel  in  wet  weather  might  by  means  of 
pegs  and  wooden  horses  hang  their  cloaks  and  coats  to  dry^ 
which  would  be  as  comfortable  to  them  as  being  warm  in 
chapel.  I  must  not  forget  Mr.  Holford's  monument  designed 
by  the  eminent  and  immortal  artist  Mr.  Deday.  It  is  placed 
outside  of  the  Sanctuary  close  to  the  pulpit  facing  the  place 
where  Mr.  Holford  was  buried.  It's  a  white  tablet  on  a  black 
frame  :  towards  the  top  is  a  small  white  cross  with  a  death's 
head  at  the  foot  of  it.  The  materials  are  good  but  there  is 
nothing  striking  in  the  design.  It  is  small  indeed,  yet  in  some 
small  monuments  you  are  struck  with  a  neatness,  a  pretty 
elegance  that  pleases,  which  I  don't  feel  in  looking  at 
this.  .  .  ." 

Sir  Edward  and  his  lady  naturally  took  the  keenest  interest 
in  the  foundation  of  this  house  of  prayer,  and  somewhat  later 
(July  3,  1809)  we  find  the  baronet  still  intent  on  adorning  it 
with  costly  articles  for  the  proper  service  of  the  altar ;  and  his 
instructions  to  Dom  Lorymer  at  that  date  are  of  special 
interest,  inasmuch  as  they  evince  the  vivid  recollections  he 
still  cherished  of  his  school  days,  and  his  anxiety  to  preserve 
the  observance  of  an  old  Douay  custom,  now,  of  course,  fallen 
into  desuetude ;  for  the  practice  of  swinging  the  censers  with 

'38 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

one  hand  at  the  full  length  of  the  chain,  still  in  vogue  in  many 
churches  in  France,  has  ceased  at  St.  Gregory's.  Dom  Kendal 
writes  thus :  "  Sir  Edw.  Smythe  begs  with  his  compliments 
that  you  would  buy  of  Mr.  Keating  two  Thuribles  for  his 
Chapel  at  Acton  Burnell,  that  our  ceremonies  of  the  divine 
service  be  carried  on  as  much  as  possible  as  they  were  at 
Douay.  The  chains  must  not  be  too  long  that  our  Thurifers 
may  use  them  at  full  length  as  at  Douay.  They  must  be  at 
least  plated.  .  .  ." 

Another  domestic  incident  connected  with  our  tenure  ot 
Acton  Burnell  must  not  be  omitted.  There,  as  at  Douay,  bat- 
and-ball  was  played ;  but  with  so  httle  reverence  for  the 
antiquity  of  the  remains  of  the  banqueting  hall  in  which 
Edward  I.  had  held  one  of  the  first  Parhaments  of  England, 
that  they  played  against  the  still  standing  walls.  For  the 
purposes  of  the  game  they  put  down  a  "  bouncing  stone " ; 
and  in  after  years  this  isolated  fragment  is  said  to  have  exer- 
cised the  ingenuity  of  a  learned  society  of  archaeologists  who, 
like  the  immortal  Pickwick  Club  over  the  equally  famous 
inscription,  were  completely  puzzled  to  find  an  explanation 
for  its  use,  imagining  it  to  belong  to  the  same  epoch  as  the 
buildings. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  daw^ning  of  prosperity  would 
banish  any  idea  of  returning  to  France.  Yet,  strange  to  say, 
the  prospect  was  kept  constantly  before  the  minds  of  the 
community.  In  the  first  place,  they  were  ever  conscious  of 
a  lurking  fear  that  the  measure  of  toleration  they  then 
enjoyed  might  be  withdrawn ;  that  their  proscribed  method  of 
life  might  suddenly  arouse  some  outburst  of  popular  prejudice 
and  ignorant  fanaticism ;  in  other  words,  they  felt  that  they 
had  here  "no  abiding  city,"  and  that  their  happy  asylum 
might  by  the  laws  of  their  country  be  in  a  moment  denied 
them,  and  that  they  would  again  become  exiles  and  wanderers 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.      Add  to  these  considerations  for 

139 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

themselves  as  monks  the  scarcely  less  important  work  of  the 
education  of  youth,  which  could  not,  from  the  point  of  view 
then  mostly  adopted  by  Catholics,  be  so  adequately  carried 
out  here  as  abroad,  and  a  very  strong  argument  is  furnished 
in  favour  of  a  retirement  to  some  safe  locality  abroad.  The 
situation  at  Douay,  too,  had  much  improved.  Much  sympathy 
had  been  exhibited  towards  them  when  the  prior  and  his 
companions  had  been  hustled  off  to  prison ;  aid  was  not 
wanting  to  enable  them  to  save  some  of  their  more  precious 
possessions,  such  as  books,  relics,  and  vestments ;  and  when 
the  monks  left  for  England,  regretted  by  all,  their  return  was 
ardently  hoped  for,  nay,  petitioned  for,  not  only  by  private 
citizens,  but  also  officially  by  the  municipality.  This  attitude 
on  the  part  of  the  city  of  Douay,  gratifying  as  the  recollection 
of  it  must  ever  be,  was  actuated  not  only  by  the  personal 
estimation  which  the  English  at  large  had  to  their  honour 
evoked,  but  also  by  motives  of  gain ;  for  the  English  establish- 
ments, five  in  number,  were  a  source  of  considerable  revenue 
to  the  local  tradespeople,  and  their  departure  spelt  financial 
loss  to  many  persons  dependent  on  them  for  their  business 
and  subsistence. 

Prior  Sharrock's  own  views  as  to  the  necessity  of  seeking  an 
asylum  someivhej-e  on  the  continent  were,  in  1800,  definite  and 
strong ;  though  time  has  proved  him  incorrect,  yet  his  views 
must  command  respect,  and  in  any  case  are  interesting.  In 
his  judgment,  France  was  precluded  from  his  choice  owing 
to  its  state  of  chaos.  That  the  settlement  in  England  either 
of  his  own  community  or  that  of  St.  Lawrence's  could  be  per- 
manent seemed  to  him  preposterous,  and  therefore  the  views 
he  expressed  in  writing  to  Dr.  Marsh,  the  prior  of  the  latter 
house,  deserve  attention,  serving  to  explain  the  frame  of  mind 
in  which  this  question  was  approached  a  century  ago.  Dom 
Sharrock  thus  wrote  :  "  .  .  .  But  in  all  this,  we  are  taking  for 
granted  that  if  our  settlements  be  ruined,  we  must  then  settle  in 

140 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

England  and  in  no  other  Country.  Now  this  will  bear  much 
mature  reflection.  Will  England  really  admit  of  a  proper 
Religious  Establishment  ?  The  Laws  at  least  are  clearly  against 
us.  They  may  be  silent  for  a  time,  but  will  they  always  be 
so  ?  Prejudices  are  still  very  strong :  more  than  one  violent 
publication  has  appeared  against  us.  Look  at  the  '  Pursuits 
of  Literature '  and  see  how  violent  is  the  author.  If  the 
Government  be  not  our  enemy,  it  is  not  certainly  a  warm  friend, 
nor  will  it  go  far  in  our  support.  England  is  yet  an  intolerant 
Country.  Observe  its  conduct  with  regard  to  Ireland  :  it  will 
rather  risk  everything  than  consent  to  emancipate  the  Catholics 
in  that  Kingdom.  What  favour,  then,  is  an  handful  of  Monks 
and  Nuns  to  expect  at  its  hands  ?  But  is  England  itself,  think 
you,  in  such  a  firm  settled  state  as  to  leave  nothing  to  fear  for 
a  Revolution  ?  Without  pretending  to  see  a  Jacobin  at  every 
turn,  is  there  not  a  considerable  body  in  the  nation  of  discon- 
tented ?  Are  not  the  tempers  of  many  soured  ?  What  effect 
may  not  the  continuation  of  the  war  and  the  load  of  taxes 
enormously  increasing  produce  ere  long?  Should  the  King 
die  to-day,  what  a  prospect  in  his  successor !  But  I  will  sup- 
pose the  Government  sufficiently  firm  and  stable  and  not 
unfavourable  to  us.  I  will  suppose  again  we  could  make  a 
tolerably  comfortable  settlement  in  England.  Could  we  wear 
the  monastick  habit,  could  we  have  any  very  solemn  office,  could 
we  very  easily  shut  out  the  world,  could  we  prevent  parents 
from  visiting  their  children,  and  the  latter  from  revisiting  their 
relations  and  intermeddling  in  their  domestick  concerns  ?  Is 
not  the  Religious  institute  a  plant  of  Catholick  growth  and 
requires  a  Catholick  soil?  Will  it  bear  to  be  transplanted 
into  an  heretical  Country  ?  What  course  of  Religious  studies 
could  we  pursue  with  success  in  England  ?  What  Libraries, 
what  professors  for  philosophy,  for  Divinity,  for  the  Scriptures, 
&c.  .  .  .?" 

Worthy  Prior  Sharrock  was  neither  a  prophet  nor  a  seer, 

141 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

and  formed  his  judgment  only  on  the  experience  of  his  own 
Hfe  and  times.  The  answer  to  his  objections  lies  in  the  vivid 
contrast  of  the  whole  of  the  past  century  and  of  the  present 
day  with  the  conditions  that  prevailed  when  the  above  words 
were  penned.  But  although  Prior  Sharrock  could  not  foresee 
any  permanence  for  a  settlement  on  English  soil,  he  had  no 
inclination,  after  his  own  bitter  experience,  to  resettle  at  Douay. 
The  question,  however,  appeared  in  a  different  light  to  the 
citizens  of  Douay.  All  through  the  troublous  times,  often 
pinched  by  poverty  if  never  actually  in  the  direst  need,  there 
had  remained  at  Douay  an  Irishman  named  Luke  Bellew, 
who  had  been  in  the  school  at  St.  Gregory's,  together  with 
four  other  members  of  his  family,  between  the  years  1778  and 
1788.  He  then  joined  the  English  Franciscans  at  St.  Bona- 
venture's  in  Douay,  and  when  they  were  ejected  from  their 
convent  in  company  with  the  other  British  subjects,  Fr.  Luke 
remained  behind  after  his  release  from  prison  to  watch  over 
the  interests  of  his  house.  As  may  be  gathered  from  his 
correspondence  with  D.  Lorymer,  of  which  a  large  number  of 
letters  exist  in  the  Downside  archives,  he  entertained  a  deep 
affection  for  his  old  school,  and  laboured  earnestly  for  his  old 
friends  the  Benedictines  in  the  hopes  of  saving  something  of 
their  property  out  of  the  general  wreck.  He  voices  this 
general  desire  in  a  letter  under  date  of  October  11,  1800: 
"...  It  is  natural  to  presume  they  [the  monks  formerly  in 
residence]  will  prefer  their  native  to  a  foreign  land,  and  assign 
to  their  younger  brethren  the  care  of  re-establishing  the  College 
and  Convent  here.  But  in  whatever  hands  this  trust  may  be 
reposed,  nothing  I  am  sure  shall  ever  diminish  my  fond  and 
unalterable  regard  for  a  body  of  men,  who  were  the  friends 
and  directors  of  the  happiest  period  of  my  life,  and  to  whom  I 
am  indebted  for  those  principles  which  were  long  my  support 
under  sickness  and  imprisonment  and  every  extremity  of  want. 
-  .  .  I  look  forward  at  the  same  time  with  great  impatience 

142 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

to  the  close  of  this  disastrous  war,  in  the  belief  that  it  will 
bring  back  the  members  of  our  respective  establishments ;  nor 
will  their  return,  I  am  persuaded,  afford  greater  satisfaction  to 
myself,  than  to  the  inhabitants  of  Douay,  whose  wishes  for  a 
general  peace  are  influenced  more  perhaps  by  this  expectation 
than  by  any  other.  The  rich  indulge  the  hope  of  meeting  at 
length  with  persons  to  whom  they  may  intrust  the  education 
of  their  children ;  while  the  poorer  sort  imagine  they  already 
behold  tides  of  gold  ready  to  flow  in  upon  them.  '  Les  guinees 
d'Angleterre '  are  almost  their  only  subject  of  conversation. 
You  would  smile  to  see  what  a  degree  of  importance  I  derive 
from  this  circumstance,  and  how  I  am  teased  by  artisans  and 
tradesmen,  who  have  been  made  to  believe  that  my  recom- 
mendation in  their  favour  may  have  some  weight  with  the 
superiors  of  our  Colleges  at  their  return.  .  .  .  Everything, 
therefore,  concurs  to  invite  you  back,  unless  difficulties  may 
perhaps  arise,  from  the  promise  of  fidelity  called  for  by  our 
Rulers,  and  which  at  all  events  can  no  farther  regard  foreigners 
than  as  they  may  think  proper  to  admit  into  their  Colleges  the 
youth  of  the  Country.  ..."  Fr.  Bellew  has  no  illusions  on 
the  subject  of  the  sentiments  which  induced  an  attitude  of 
such  friendliness  on  the  part  of  all  classes  in  Douay.  Self- 
iriterest  was  the  motive  power ;  but  it  was  a  self-interest  born 
of  an  intimate  past  experience  of  the  benefits  that  had  been 
derived  from  the  presence  in  their  midst  of  theae  monks  from 
a  foreign  and  ofttimes  a  hostile  land.  British  gold  was  not  to 
be  despised,  and  the  English  system  of  training  youth  was 
known  to  be  advantageous  to  the  manly  development  of  their 
sons.      Voila  tout  I 

From  this  and  other  letters  of  the  same  correspondent,  as 
well  as  from  Dom  Henry  Parker,  a  monk  of  St.  Edmund's, 
Paris,  and  an  old  Gregorian,  who  stayed  in  the  French  capital 
throughout  the  Revolution  and  acted  for  his  Douay  brethren 
when  opportunity  offered,  it  is  clear  that  not  unreasonable 

143 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

hopes  were  even  then  entertained  of  securing  restitution  of 
our  property.  A  year  later  (December  1801)  Fr.  Bellew  re- 
iterates what  he  had  before  emphasised :  "  One  thing  certain 
is  that  they  [the  Enghsh]  are  ardently  wished  for  here,  and 
that  the  day  of  their  return  will  be  a  day  of  gladness  through 
the  whole  town." 

The  material  condition  of  most  of  the  buildings  of  St. 
Gregory's  at  Douay  was  not  as  bad  as  that  of  some  of  the 
other  establishments.  In  a  letter  written  in  April  1802, 
D.  Lorymer  reports  that  he  had  heard  from  Mr.  Farquarson, 
who  had  made  an  inspection  of  the  premises  for  him,  and 
found  the  "  old  Building  a  perfect  wreck,  the  roof  completely 
ruined  and  open  all  along  ;  the  neiv^  less  damaged  ;  the  lower 
parts  thereof  inhabited  by  some  families  .  .  .  the  Church  still 
entire  but  miserably  impaired  on  account  of  its  roofs  being 
wholly  neglected " ;  and  Fr.  Lorymer  finally  exclaims  : 
"  What  will  Mr.  Hodgson's  feelings  be,  when  informed  that 
a  tree  of  liberty  stands  between  the  two  lofty  wings  of  Alma 
Mater /'^     (This  refers  to  the  English  secular  college.) 

In  the  following  July,  Fr.  Bellew  again  reverted  to  the 
advisability  of  a  re-establishment  of  St.  Gregory's  at  Douay. 
His  reasons  are  the  more  interesting  as  they  throw  light  on 
the  history  of  the  last  five  or  six  years  of  the  school  immedi- 
ately before  the  Revolution,  when  it  had  opened  its  doors  to 
French  boys.  "  Your  return,"  he  says,  "  is  ardently  wished 
for  at  the  Prefecture  as  well  as  elsewhere.  I  am  not  so  certain 
that  they  will  prove  equally  favourable  to  St.  Bonaventure's, 
or  at  least  that  they  will  be  so  eager  to  see  their  convent 
restored,  tho'  it  be  an  undoubted  fact,  I  believe,  that  these 
gentlemen  latterly  drew  their  chief  means  of  support  from 
England.  If  they  think  of  settling  there  anew,  I  would  advise 
them  by  all  means  to  set  up  a  college.  Were  there  five 
British  Colleges  in  Douay,  they  would  all  be  crowded  with 
the  youth  of  the  Country."     To  place  the  matter  beyond 

144 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

doubt,  Mons.  Boule,  the  town  architect  of  Douay,  added  his 
entreaties,  and  the  following  passages  from  his  letter  may  not 
be  unacceptable :  "  Plut  a  Dieu  que  j'eusse  le  plaisir  de  vous 
recevoir  a  Douay  dans  votre  ancienne  maison.  C'est  bien  le 
desire  unanime  de  toute  la  ville,  qui  voit  bien  aujourd'hui 
a  quoi  pent  conduire  une  revolution ;  cependant  grace  en  soit 
rendu  a  la  divine  providence  de  Dieu,  aujourd'hui  le  calme, 
la  tranquillite,  regne  partout ;  il  n'y  a  qu'une  chose  bien 
frapante  et  tres  remarquable  pour  des  gens  bien  nes,  c'est 
I'education,  les  moeurs,  qui  ont  beaucoup  souiferts  depuis 
dix  ans :  cette  lacune  sera  difficile  a  reparer ;  c'est  pourquoi 
il  serait  h  desirer,  pour  le  bien  public,  qu'il  le  format  quelques 
etablissemens  d'education  pour  remener  les  uns  et  faire  con- 
noitre  aux  autres  des  jeunes  gens,  ce  que  peut  la  religion  et 
une  bonne  education.  .  .  ." 

It  remains  abundantly  clear,  therefore,  that  any  move  in  the 
direction  of  the  old  home  would  have  met  with  hearty  support 
at  this  time,  on  both  sides  of  the  Channel ;  for  even  some 
years  later,  when  a  return  to  Douay  was  again  seriously  con- 
sidered, many  parents  and  friends  of  the  boys,  both  past  and 
present,  came  forward  with  promises  of  financial  help  to  render 
the  migration  easier  :  so  convinced  were  many  persons  at  that 
period,  and  up  to  the  actual  passing  of  the  Emancipation  Bill, 
that  there  would  never  be  stable  security  and  room  for  expan- 
sion for  religious  and  teaching  bodies  of  the  old  faith  here  in 
England. 

Meanwhile  the  community  at  Acton  Burnell  was  not  idly 
living  on  the  generosity  and  hospitality  of  Sir  Edward  Smythe, 
who  was  at  this  very  time  busy  with  schemes  of  enlarging 
his  house  to  provide  them  with  the  much-needed  accom- 
modation. Notwithstanding  a  prospect  of  incurring  heavy 
expense  over  these  projected  additions,  it  is  pleasant  to  learn 
that  the  prior,  knowing  that  St.  Lawrence's  was  in  financial 
difficulties,  wrote  to  Dom  Lorymer  :  "...  As  to  the  sub- 

145  ^ 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

scription  for  Mr.  Marsh,  I  mean  to  be  generous,  and  shall 
propose  to  the  Council  the  giving  ;£"ioo," — the  payment  of 
which  duly  appears  in  the  half-yearly  account  for  that  date. 
Still,  until  a  return  to  Douay  should  become  possible  and 
advisable,  the  Gregorian  fathers  were  anxious  to  settle,  if  only 
for  a  time,  on  property  they  could  call  their  own.  In  the 
autumn  of  1809  they  had  heard  of  a  property  then  on  sale 
belonging  to  Lord  Darlington,  which  seemed  to  suit  their 
requirements.  It  was  situated  at  no  great  distance  from  their 
present  retreat,  partly  in  Shropshire,  pardy  in  Herefordshire. 
The  price  ultimately  realised  by  the  estate  put  it  quite  beyond 
the  modest  means  at  the  command  of  St.  Gregory's  :  a  subject 
of  congratulation  to  us  of  a  later  generation  ;  for  though  the 
country  around  Ludlow  is  attractive,  a  school  located  there 
would  have  been  less  accessible  than  was  Downside,  with  all 
its  drawbacks,  at  that  time  in  this  respect ;  and  the  develop- 
ment of  St.  Gregory's  would  have  been  indefinitely  retarded. 
Nothing  else  suitable  presenting  itself  at  the  moment,  and  Sir 
Edward  having  supplied  the  most  pressing  need  for  room  by 
the  addition  of  a  wing  to  his  mansion,  the  wonted  course  of 
uneventful  routine  continued;  which  is  perhaps  best  exemplified 
by  a  letter  addressed  to  Fr.  Eldridge  by  his  old  friend  of  Douay 
days.  Rev.  J.  Chetwode  Eustace,  then  residing  at  his  little 
mission  at  Chesterford,  in  Essex. 

"  Chesterford,  February  25,  1812. 

"  Dear  Eldridge, — I  was  agreeably  surprised  this  morning 
in  finding  your  name  at  the  end  of  an  epistle,  and,  when  I  had 
perused  its  contents,  not  a  little  delighted  to  find  that  my  old 
friend  was  well,  and  that  the  Gregorian  colony  at  Acton 
Burnell  was  in  so  prosperous  a  condition.  You  only  do  me 
justice  in  supposing  that  such  an  account  would  give  me  great 
pleasure,  and  that  I  should  be  very  ready  to  contribute  as  far 
as  lies  in  my  power  to  that  prosperity.     However,  my  Rhetoric 

146 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

is  not,  I  apprehend,  calculated  to  be  very  serviceable  in  that 
respect,  as  it  is  a  very  imperfect  sketch  of  the  subject  in  itself, 
and  the  copy,  which  I  think  I  have  somewhere  among  my 
books,  rather  incorrect.  It  was  taken  by  our  friend,  Harry 
Taaffe,  but  before  the  revisal  and  subsequent  improvement  of 
the  work.  The  corrected  copy  Henry  gave  to  Luke  Bellew. 
Even  that  copy  was  imperfect,  as  the  work  itself  was  never 
finished,  though  I  had  all  the  materials  of  the  remaining 
chapters  by  me,  and,  indeed,  in  some  degree  arranged  for  im- 
mediate composition.  But  the  plan  itself  is  defective,  though 
conformable  to  the  ideas  and  practice  of  the  ancients.  There 
is  too  much  stress  laid  upon  the  commonplaces,  divisions, 
and  technical  parts,  and  machinery  of  Rhetoric  ;  a  defect  of 
which  I  was  very  sensible  at  the  time,  and  endeavoured  in 
some  degree  to  correct  by  the  number  and  beauty  of  the 
examples  which  I  took  care  to  introduce.  Even  those  ex- 
amples are  frequently  such  as  I  should  not  now  approve  of; 
they  are  too  often  taken  from  the  modern  languages,  and  that 
is  now  considered  a  crime  against  the  canons  of  pure  Taste, 
which  admit  of  no  perfect  models  out  of  the  divine  dialects  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  But,  pray,  can't  you  contrive  to  make  a 
visit  to  Chesterford  for  a  few  days,  and  thus  give  me  an  op- 
portunity of  talking  over  the  matter  at  leisure.  You  shall  have 
a  hearty  welcome,  a  comfortable  room,  a  view  of  St.  Gregory's 
over  your  chimney-piece,  as  much  conviviality  and  as  much 
fasting  as  you  please,  with  an  Oratory,  prayers.  Breviaries, 
Meditations,  and  all  the  holy  etceteras  of  monastic  life  in 
abundance.  A  fly  sets  out  from  the  Blue  Boar,  Holborn, 
every  morning  at  eight  o'clock,  and  arrives  at  Chesterford  at 
half-past  three.  The  same  fly  proceeds  to  Cambridge,  and 
from  thence  a  coach  starts  every  day  for  Birmingham  ;  thus 
you  may  come  and  go  with  the  utmost  facility.  You  will  do 
well  to  come,  as  I  flatter  myself  that  I  could  give  a  few  hints 
about  the  method  of  teaching  which  might  turn  out  to  the 

147 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

advantage  of  your  Gregorian  disciples.  At  all  events  the 
Rhetoric  is  at  your  service,  and,  if  I  can  find  it,  shall  be  sent 
to  Confrere  Lorymer's  on  Friday  next  by  a  friend  of  mine  who 
goes  up  to  town  on  that  day.  Kindest  compliments  to  Don 
Anselm.  Tell  him  I  have  not  yet  got  the  tune  of  the  Christ- 
mas hymn.  But  now  I  think  of  it,  in  return  for  the  Rhetoric 
I  expect  the  tunes  of  the  hymn  of  Christmas,  both  at  Vespers 
and  Lauds,  that  oijesu  dulcis  memoria  (the  hymn  of  the  Holy 
Name)  that  of  All  Saints,  of  Apostles,  Martyrs,  and  Virgins. 

"  Every  kind  compliment  to  Harrison,  the  Prior,  and  other, 
or  rather  every  other  old  friend  at  Acton  Burnell.  Tell 
Harrison  to  give  his  pupils  Latin  and  Greek  in  plenty,  morn- 
ing, noon,  and  night,  Latin  and  Greek.  Modern  languages 
may  be  learned  at  any  time,  and  with  ease ;  but  Greek  and 
Latin,  if  not  acquired  early,  are  never  afterwards  studied. 
Unfortunately,  our  Catholics  are  at  present  very  deficient  in 
both,  and  particularly  the  first,  a  circumstance  very  disgrace- 
ful to  the  body  at  a  time  when  the  knowledge  both  of  Greek 
and  Latin  is  considered  as  essential  even,  to  a  gentleman. 
But  it  is  time  to  conclude,  which,  to  shew  my  attachment  to 
old  St.  Gregory's,  I  will  do  in  my  youthful  manner  with 
the  (undecipherable)  verses  inscribed  under  the  View  of  the 
College  now  in  my  Room,  which  the  famous  Burke  con- 
descended to  applaud  and  repeat. 

Thrice  blest,  O  Alma,  be  thy  sacred  walls, 

Thy  shaded  courts,  thy  dim  resounding  Halls, 

Dear  well-known  scenes,  where  still  when  tired  with  woes 

My  mind  returns  to  seek  its  lost  repose, 

To  wake  once  more  the  raptures  of  the  boy, 

And  temper  manly  cares  with  youthful  joy. 

"  You  perceive  that  I  am  still  a  Gregorian.  Addio,  dear 
Eldridge. — Most  cordially  yours, 

"  T.  Chetwode  Eustace." 
148 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

The  writer  of  the  above  letter,  one  of  St.  Gregory's  most 
gifted  sons,  was  for  some  years  in  the  school  at  Douay,  and 
had  thoughts  of  joining  the  community,  but  found  he  had 
no  vocation  for  the  monastic  life.  While  at  Douay  he  rapidly 
developed  undoubted  genius  ;  so  that  on  leaving,  he  at  once 
became  Professor  of  Rhetoric  at  Maynooth,  whither  he 
straightway  proceeded.  Later,  he  was  ordained  to  the 
priesthood.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  correct 
and  just  estimate  of  the  character  of  this  learned  ecclesiastic. 
That  he  never  in  the  slightest  degree  forsook  the  practice  of 
his  religion  is  certain ;  yet,  by  the  breadth  of  his  views,  and 
the  concessions  he  was  willing  to  make  to  Protestant  pre- 
judice in  accordance  with  his  own  ideas  of  liberality  and 
tolerance,  he  deeply  incensed  the  stern  and  unyielding  Dr. 
Milner,  and  others  of  the  same  stamp,  suspicious  of  danger  in 
any  latitude  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  horizon.  Though 
it  is  impossible  to  defend  some  of  the  passages  that  occur 
in  the  Tour  through  Italy,  yet  experience  has  proved  that  the 
harm  which  was  feared  from  its  dissemination  has  been  in  no 
proportion  to  the  actual  results.  The  violent  attack  made  on 
the  book  by  Dr.  Milner  might,  it  would  seem,  have  been  better 
left  unwritten  ;  for  it  tended  to  draw  wide  attention  to  what 
would  otherwise  have  probably  passed  unnoticed  amidst  so 
much  that  was  beautiful  and  inspiring,  and  left  no  margin  for 
the  discretion  of  the  cultivated  reader  whose  faith  was  thought 
to  be  endangered.  Eustace  died  at  Naples  on  August  i,  181 5, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-two,  of  a  fever  contracted  w^hilst  travelling, 
and  was  there  buried.  He  left  to  his  Benedictine  friends  such 
books  as  they  might  wish  to  select  *out  of  his  library ;  and 
thus  many  of  his  books,  bearing  his  autograph,  repose  on  the 
shelves  at  Downside.  The  estimate  formed  of  him  by  those 
most  intimately  acquainted  with  him  is  thus  expressed  :  "  Dig- 
nified without  pride,  cheerful  without  levity ;  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  world  he  never  for  a  moment  lost  sight  of  his  sacred 

149 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

character  or  its  duties,  which  he  fulfilled  without  ostentatious 
display  or  affected  concealment." 

A  serious  blow  fell  upon  the  community  at  Acton  Burnell 
by  the  death  of  their  great  benefactor,  Sir  Edward  Smythe, 
which  took  place  on  April  i8,  1811;  and  long  and  sin- 
cerely was  he  mourned  by  those  whom  he  had  so  signally 
befriended.  With  his  demise,  a  totally  different  condition  of 
affairs  faced  St.  Gregory's.  The  young  baronet  had  lately 
married,  and  for  the  accommodation  of  his  own  family,  and  also 
for  that  of  the  recently  bereaved  dowager,  Acton  Burnell  was 
obviously  needed,  and  therefore  it  became  imperative  to  look 
out  for  a  suitable  spot  whereat  to  settle  down.  So  Prior 
Kendal,  who  at  the  demise  of  Dom  Jerome  Sharrock  in  1808 
had  been  entrusted  with  the  government  of  St.  Gregory's,  lost 
no  time  in  writing  to  his  friend,  Bishop  CoUingridge,  O.S.F., 
Vicar-Apostolic  of  the  Western  District,  with  the  hope  of 
securing  a  settlement  within  the  limits  of  his  jurisdiction.  Fr. 
Eldridge  wrote  to  Dom  Lorymer,  who  was  also  looking  for  an 
eligible  site  :  "  With  you  we  think  that  Somersetshire  possesses 
many  advantages.  However,  we  tie  ourselves  down  to  no 
particular  county.  The  situation  that  shall  possess  the  most 
permanent  advantages  is  the  one  we  shall  fix  upon."  All 
through  the  early  part  of  18 13  more  than  one  person  was 
busily  employed  in  searching  for  a  suitable  property.  Amongst 
others,  we  learn  that  Bishop  CoUingridge  was  actively  interest- 
ing himself  in  the  matter  :  a  fact  which  is  mentioned  in  a  letter 
from  the  prior  to  Dom  Lorymer  (dated  February  6,  18 13), 
and  has  a  special  value,  for  on  this  record  of  the  bishop's 
exertions  on  our  behalf  the  very  existence  of  Downside  as  a 
monastery  and  school  depended,  when  a  few  years  later  their 
canonical  right  to  continue  as  such  was  called  in  question  by 
the  good  bishop's  successor.  Shortly  after,  the  prior  tells  D. 
Lorymer  that  no  move  will  be  possible  till  the  following  year, 
but  as  they  had  been  accorded  full  liberty  to  remain  at  Acton 

150 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

Burnell  till  they  could  settle  themselves  to  advantage,  Prior 
Kendal  was  not  likely,  either  by  the  promptings  of  his  nature 
or  of  exigency,  to  hurry  matters.  A  site  in  the  Isle  of  Wight 
was  considered,  but  did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  any 
concerned.  In  August  the  prior  wrote  to  D.  Lorymer  saying 
he  had  heard  of  a  place  in  Berkshire  called  Challow  House, 
near  Wantage,  then  for  sale,  and  desired  him  to  go  down  and 
inspect  it,  and  to  ask  Mr.  Eyston,  of  East  Hendred,  to  interest 
himself  in  the  matter ;  meanwhile  he  went  on  to  state  that  he 
himself  was  posting  to  Bath,  having  heard  of  a  place  not  far 
from  that  city  which  might  prove  suitable.  This  is  the  first 
indication  that  the  search  was  nearing  the  ultimate  choice. 
The  next  letter,  written  on  September  7,  gives  D.  Lorymer  the 
welcome  intelligence  that  at  last  a  suitable  selection  had  been 
made.  The  prior  says  :  "  After  a  long  and  tedious  search 
of  a  situation  suitable  for  the  community  of  Acton,  I  have  at 
last  met  with  one  that,  I  hope,  will  give  satisfaction.  It  con- 
sists of  a  mansion,  stables,  coach-house,  barn,  garden,  &c., 
and  21  acres  of  meadow  land.  It  lies  three  miles  distant 
from  coal-pits.  The  London  mail  through  Bath  and  Exeter 
to  Plymouth  passes  about  a  mile  from  the  House.  It  is  six 
miles  from  Shipton  Mallet.  The  lands  round  the  house,  with 
the  country  round  it,  afford  great  advantage  to  a  community 
on  account  of  solitude,  and  delightful  with  walks.  .  .  . 
The  situation  is  eleven  miles  from  Bath,  and  the  name  of 
the  place  Downside.  The  above  purchase  was  made  by 
me  yesterday  on  the  spot,  in  company  of  a  friend  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Ainsworth.  ..."  A  few  weeks  later  he  is  just  as 
pleased  as  at  first  with  the  purchase  he  had  lately  concluded  : 
"  I  believe  the  situation  I  have  chosen  will  meet  the  approba- 
tion of  my  confreres  when  they  see  it,  and  others  are  of  the 
same  opinion.  Mr.  Coombs  and  others  have  said  that 
though  I  should  seek  out  England  itself,  I  could  not  have 
purchased  a  more  delightful  and  eligible  situation." 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

Though  probably  he  was  unaware  of  it,  his  choice  of  a  situa- 
tion was  strangely  appropriate  ;  for  in  the  village  of  Stratton-on- 
the-Fosse,  lying  outside  the  gates  of  the  estate  he  had  secured, 
the  dedication  of  the  ancient  church  was  to  St.  Vigor.  This 
dedication,  being  a  very  rare  one  in  England,  is  evidently  due 
to  foreign  influence,  and  probability  points  to  that  of  the  Bishop 
of  Coutances,  to  whom  William  the  Conqueror  made  over  the 
manor  of  Stratone.  St.  Vigor  had  been  Bishop  of  Bayeux,  a 
neighbouring  diocese  to  that  of  Coutances.  But  St.  Vigor, 
before  his  elevation  to  the  episcopal  chair  of  Bayeux,  had 
been  a  monk  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Vaast,  at  Arras.  And  thus, 
when  the  community  and  school  of  St.  Gregory's  became 
possessed  of  the  Downside  property  and  settled  down  there 
after  their  long  exile,  an  exile  relieved  by  the  charity  and 
bounty  of  the  same  abbey  of  St.  Vaast,  they  found  themselves 
once  more  at  home,  so  to  say,  in  a  village  which  owned  for 
patron  one  of  the  holiest  monks  of  Arras,  St.  Vigor,  Bishop  of 
Bayeux.  We  may  see  in  this  something  more  than  a  mere 
coincidence ;  for  surely  it  was  the  hand  of  Providence,  all 
unknown  to  themselves,  that  guided  our  fathers'  wandering 
steps  to  one  of  the  few  spots  in  England  connected  with  their 
old  patron  :  not  without  a  purpose  are  such  things  done. 

They  were  to  have  entered  into  possession  on  Michaelmas 
Day ;  but  the  prior  hesitated  at  the  last  moment,  for  he  was 
not  satisfied  as  to  the  character  of  the  title  regarding  the  coal 
under  the  estate.  When  this  had  been  satisfactorily  proved, 
the  transfer  was  allowed  to  proceed.  But  after  the  first  pur- 
chase of  the  house  with  21  acres  of  land,  a  very  few  days 
sufficed  to  show  the  utility  of  increasing  the  acreage ;  and  as 
the  opportunity  presented  itself,  the  21  acres  became  66,  and 
the  total  price  to  be  paid  for  the  whole,  including  the  legal 
expenses  connected  with  the  conveyancing  of  the  property, 
amounted  in  the  end  to  ;£^7338. 

The   accommodation   afforded   by  the   house,  judged    by 

152 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

modern  standards,  was  hardly  adequate ;  but  in  those  far-off 
days  of  small  beginnings  it  sounded  palatial  to  the  new  pro- 
prietors. This  is  the  prior's  account  of  it :  " .  .  .  As  to  the 
mansion,  it  is  of  a  tolerable  size,  the  bedchambers,  which  easily 
may  be  divided,  each  room  into  two,  as  they  are  large  square 
rooms,  having  each  room  two  windows,  will  give  us  nineteen 
good  sleeping-rooms.  There  is  moreover  the  ground  floor,  with 
kitchen,  &c.,  underground.  The  adjoining  buildings  may  be 
turned  to  great  advantage.  I  hope  ^400  will  settle  us  and 
boys  comfortably.  In  saying  ;!^4oo  I  mean  the  fitting  up  of 
an  outward  building  for  dormitory,  calefactory,  &c.,  for  the 
boys.  It  is  a  strong-built  mansion,  the  walls  very  thick,  the 
roof  flat,  covered  over  with  lead.  .  .  .  The  estate  may  be 
considered  a  little  park,  its  shrubberies  are  numerous.  It  is 
considered  as  one  of  the  prettiest  spots  in  the  country.  .  .  . 
Besides  the  bedrooms  already  mentioned,  there  are  also  five 
garret  rooms.  .  .   ." 

Gregorians  were  not  of  one  mind  in  approving  the  selection 
of  Somersetshire  for  the  new  foundation,  and  our  archives 
shew  that  some  would  have  preferred  the  north  of  f England  ; 
but  as  was  pointed  out  at  the  time,  with  Ushaw,  Stonyhurst, 
and  Ampleforth  flourishing  in  varying  degrees  in  that  part  of 
the  country,  very  little  chance  of  development  would  have 
been  left  for  a  fourth  establishment ;  nor  would  the  Gregorians 
have  been  welcomed  by  the  schools  already  existing  in  the 
north. 

The  provision  of  ways  and  means  for  the  move  from]  Shrop- 
shire to  Somersetshire  induced  much  anxious  hesitation  and 
the  drawing  up  of  various  drafts  of  appeals  to  public  generosity, 
of  which  the  following  was  adopted  as  the  most  suitable  : — 

"  As  the  members  of  St.  Gregory's  College  now  resident  at 
Acton  Burnell  find  themselves  under  the  necessity  of  removing 
soon  from  it,  and  of  procuring  for  themselves  a  settlement 
elsewhere,  they  are  reluctantly  compelled  to  solicit  the  charit- 

153 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

able  assistance  of  friends  to  alleviate  the  burden  of  the  very 
heavy  expenses  which  must  unavoidably  be  incurred  for  that 
purpose.  It  is  as  member  of  that  same  establishment  that  I 
have  been  directed  to  address  myself  respectfully  to  you,  as  I 
have  done  to  other  gentlemen  who  may  feel  interest  in  its 
welfare,  to  request  you  kindly  to  contribute  a  charitable  mite 
in  its  behalf.  It  may  be  proper  here  to  observe  that  from  the 
prospect  of  a  permanent  situation  at  Acton  Burnell,  the  estab- 
lishment has  been  within  these  few  years  so  greatly  increased 
by  a  number  of  eleves  destined  to  be  employed  in  the  func- 
tions of  the  sacred  ministry,  that,  considering  the  expenses 
which  it  cannot  at  present  avoid,  it  is  generally  to  be  appre- 
hended that  it  will  fall  short  of  the  means  to  provide  for 
them  ;  and,  of  course,  unless  aided  by  the  charitable  contribu- 
tions of  friends,  it  may  be  under  the  necessity  of  dismissing 
several  at  a  moment  when  it  is  well  known  that  such  a  dimi- 
nution must  prove  very  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  Religion 
in  this  country.  Hoping  that  this  will  be  a  sufficient  apology 
for  addressing  myself  to  you,  I  remain,  &c." 

Handsome  donations  were  received  from  the  ever-generous 
friends  of  St.  Gregory's  ;  but  just  as  the  community  and  school 
were  on  the  eve  of  migrating  from  Acton  Burnell,  a  well-nigh 
irreparable  loss  befell  St.  Gregory's.  During  the  negotiations 
for  the  purchase  of  Downside,  Prior  Kendal  had  stayed  in 
Bath  and  had  there  been  enduring  great  suffering,  battling 
against  a  disease  which  was  sapping  his  strength  and  energies 
and  killing  him  slowly  but  surely.  Thoroughly  convinced  that 
he  was  near  his  end,  and  that  the  exertions  of  a  journey  might 
overtax  his  failing  strength,  he  made  all  necessary  dispositions 
in  case  of  his  sudden  demise  on  the  road,  before  setting  out 
from  Bath  on  his  return  home.  He  arranged,  too,  to  break 
his  journey  at  Wootton,  partly  to  rest  himself,  partly  to  pay 
his  respects  to  his  patroness  Lady  Smythe,  and  to  relate  to  her 
all  that  he  had  done.     The  journey  from  Bath  to  Wootton 

154 


ACTON    BURNELL,    1795-1814 

Hall  was  fatal.  He  reached  the  Hall  in  a  sinking  condition, 
though  no  immediate  danger  was  anticipated;  on  March  26, 
however,  a  sudden  change  came,  and  he  breathed  his  last  so 
quickly  after  the  final  seizure  that  Dom  Deday,  the  chaplain  at 
Wootton,  had  barely  time  to  administer  Extreme  Unction  before 
the  end.  Thus  died  one  to  whom  St.  Gregory's,  both  monas- 
tery and  school,  owes  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude.  His  memory 
should  be  held  in  benediction  for  his  example  of  single-minded 
devotion,  and  for  the  labours  he  had  cheerfully  undertaken  as 
superior  during  six  years  of  struggle.  Prior  Kendal  was  a 
worthy  successor  of  a  worthy  prior  of  St.  Gregory's.  His 
death  at  a  time  of  bustle  and  confusion  necessarily  accompany- 
ing the  removal  of  a  not  inconsiderable  establishment,  cast  a 
gloom  over  the  community  and  involved  them  in  the  difficulty 
of  making  their  migration  wdthout  any  experienced  head  to 
direct  them. 

Some  time  elapsed  before  a  successor  could  be  elected. 
The  choice  first  fell  upon  Dom  Henry  Lawson ;  but  after  care- 
ful deliberation  he  declined  the  burthen;  whereupon  his 
brother,  Dom  Thomas  Austin  Lawson,  was  prevailed  upon  to 
assume  the  office. 

The  arrangements  for  the  removal  had  meanwhile  been 
completed;  and  pending  his  entering  into  the  duties  of  the 
priorship,  those  on  the  spot  had  to  confront  the  task.  Fr. 
Rolling  was  ordered  to  stay  behind  to  settle  affairs  at  Acton 
Burnell.  He  held  a  sale  of  the  odds  and  ends  not  worth  the 
expense  of  transport  to  Downside,  and  a  couple  of  printed 
copies  of  the  sale  catalogue  of  some  200  odd  lots  are  preserved 
in  the  archives.  Dom  Leveaux,  an  old  Maurist  monk  who 
had  thrown  in  his  lot  with  St.  Gregory's  after  the  French 
Revolution,  being  the  senior  in  the  house,  became  temporarily 
superior ;  and  thus  headed  the  band  of  monks  and  boys  who 
on  Wednesday,  April  28,  18 14,  left  what  had  been  an  asylum 
for  twenty  years,  and  proceeded  on  foot  to  Atcham  Bridge  to 

155 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

meet  the  Worcester  coach,  the  whole  of  which  had  been  previ- 
ously engaged  for  them.  They  spent  the  night  at  the  Star  Inn 
in  Worcester ;  and  it  is  on  record  that,  to  the  no  small  astonish- 
ment of  the  waiters,  the  rigid  old  Maurist  monk  intoned  the 
monastic  "grace"  before  their  evening  meal.  The  second 
day  they  reached  Bath,  and  here  the  small  party  of  boys  was 
left  for  a  few  days,  while  the  monks  pushed  on  for  Downside. 
The  majority  of  them,  to  save  expense,  went  with  the  luggage  by 
canal  to  Paulton,  and  thence  walked  to  their  new  home.  One 
of  the  party  used  to  relate  that  as  they  came  up  Chilcompton 
Hill,  a  large  number  of  country-folk  had  gathered  to  see  them, 
and  made  remarks  on  their  great  size.  At  Downside  they  found 
that  little  preparation  had  been  made  for  their  arrival.  The 
furniture  and  heavy  baggage  which  had  been  despatched  from 
Shrewsbury  by  canal,  was  still  on  the  way;  and  there  was 
scarcely  a  chair  or  a  table  for  their  use.  To  add  to  their  vexa- 
tion and  discomfort,  the  last  days  of  April  became  bitterly  cold, 
and  they  had  not  a  sufficient  supply  of  fuel  to  warm  their 
empty  house.  Dom  Leveaux  was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  and 
did  not  recognise  in  these  minor  circumstances  sufficient  reason 
to  depart  from  the  usual  routine  of  duties,  so  that  considerable 
embarrassment  was  experienced  in  carrying  out  his  orders  to 
commence  studies,  for  no  books  had  arrived,  and  there  were 
practically  no  tables  to  accommodate  them.  Thus  was  Down- 
side occupied,  and  the  history  of  St.  Gregory's  entered  on  a 
new  phase. 


156 


CHAPTER  VI 

DOWNSIDE,  1814-1830 

Arrival  and  reception  of  new-comers  at  Downside — Their  impressions — 
Fr.  Baines'  schemes  about  building — Feinaigle's  system  of  education 
— Douay,  and  negotiations  concerning  a  return  to  it — Prior  Lawson's 
endeavour  to  secure  assent  to  return  to  France — His  visit  to  Douay — 
Restoration  of  property  there  to  St.  Gregory's — Decision  to  remain  in 
England — Raising  of  funds  for  building  at  Downside — Prior  Barber — 
— Fruitless  search  for  another  locality  to  replace  Downside — Selection 
of  design — Laying  of  foundation-stone — Progress  of  buildings — Open- 
ing of  new  chapel — The  dispute  with  Dr.  Baines. 

The  word  "  Downside  "  conjures  up  so  many  recollections  in 
the  memories  of  all  who  have  spent  their  school-days  within 
its  walls,  that  the  details  of  how  the  first  denizens  of  the  old 
house  were  impressed  by  their  new  acquisition  must  prove  of 
great  interest,  more  especially  since  the  death  of  Dom  Peter 
Wilson  in  1890  removed  the  last  Hnk  with  pre-Downside  days 
and  people. 

The  old  manor  house  of  Mount  Pleasant  appeared  to  the 
little  band  of  monks,  wearied  with  their  long  tramp,  a  com- 
fortable, old-fashioned  dwelling,  no  doubt,  with  its  panelled 
oak  parlours,  and  wonderfully  solid  oak  staircases  and  floors. 
In  those  times  it  looked  out,  as  it  does  now,  on  the  beautiful 
park  and  grounds  that  are  so  well  known  to  Gregorians.  The 
shrubberies,  the  avenue  of  magnificent  elms,  the  gardens,  and 
the  fine  old  trees  scattered  about  were  almost  as  we  see  them 
to-day.  For  many  years — indeed,  up  to  1874— the  old  house 
formed  the  monastery  proper.     There  were  the  guest  parlour, 

^57 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

the  calefactory,  the  kitchens  and  pantries  adjoining  the  re- 
fectory, the  prior's  rooms,  the  sacristy,  the  novitiate,  and 
the  other  parts  of  the  monastery.  There  was  the  "  old 
clock  on  the  stairs,"  and  on  the  roof  was  the  large  bell 
which,  until  the  completion  of  the  second  tower,  called  the 
monks  to  matins  in  the  early  morning,  the  boys  to  their 
studies,  tolled  the  angelus,  marked  the  other  portions  of 
the  day's  duties,  and  closed  the  day  at  compline.  In  those 
early  days  the  entrance  faced  the  east,  not  as  now  the 
south;  and  from  the  porch  the  eye  wandered  to  the 
"short  shrubberies"  across  an  old  garden  pond  long  since 
filled  up,  and  whose  very  existence  had  escaped  living 
memory,  till  the  extreme  drought  of  the  summer  of  1887 
brought  out  a  curious  ring  in  the  grass  marking  its  site. 
Another  feature  in  our  landscape  was,  at  the  same  time, 
recalled  to  memory ;  for  from  the  same  cause  a  road  leading 
across  the  lawn  from  the  beeches  beside  the  ball-place  to  the 
green  lane  became  perfectly  distinguishable. 

Letters  still  extant  give  a  picture  of  men  enraptured  with 
the  house  and  adjoining  property  which  was  all  their  own. 
This  is  the  note  running  through  the  correspondence  of  the 
time ;  an  occasional  jocular  reference  also  to  the  neighbours 
shews  that  they  had  to  put  up  with  a  few  minor  inconveni- 
ences. "  These  Devils  of  Somersetshire  men,"  wrote  Br. 
Ignatius  Abram  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  "  came  one 
night  and  stole  all  the  apples  in  the  orchard,  of  which  there 
were  no  small  number  of  pecks,  and  a  little  after  that  bared 
two  or  three  nut  bushes  of  their  fruit  in  the  garden.  ...  I 
think  soon  they  will  steal  us.  .  .  ."  This  unenviable  noto- 
riety amongst  their  neighbours,  which  gained  them  such 
undesired  and  undesirable  attentions,  made  them  so  well 
known  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  hamlet  that  the  com- 
piler of  a  "  road  book  "  of  the  period  informed  the  travelling 
public  that  the  "  English  devotees  of  the  Order  of  St.  Bene- 

158 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

diet "  had  taken  up  their  abode  at  the  house  known  as  Mount 
Pleasant. 

It  is  rarely  possible  to  secure  the  approval  of  every  one  to 
any  undertaking,  and  a  discordant  note  was  struck  in  this  case 
also.  Br.  Placid  Morris,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Troy,  /././., 
was  absent,  on  account  of  ill-health  when  the  rest  of  his 
brethren  first  occupied  Downside;  on  rejoining  them  some 
nine  months  later,  he  told  D.  Lorymer :  "  Downside  does  not 
at  all  please  me.  We  are  sadly  off  for  room.  I  sleep  in  the 
calefactory  .  .  ."  which  discloses  the  fact  that  the  inmates 
were  already  inconveniently  crowded.  Nor  was  the  future 
bishop  alone  in  his  depreciation  of  the  new  purchase,  for  an 
opinion  of  more  weight  at  that  period  was  the  prior's,  and  he 
was  uncompromising  in  condemnation.  It  was  an  anxious 
time  when  he  took  charge  of  the  community,  and  every  tribute 
of  gratitude  is  due  to  him  for  the  gentle  rule  which  desired  to 
smooth  over  difficulties,  and  the  good  sense  which  failed  not 
to  encourage  the  intellectual  life  around  him.  To  secure 
the  success  of  the  new  venture  at  Downside,  unanimity  in 
turning  the  actual  conditions  to  the  best  advantage  was 
essential.  Nevertheless,  while  Prior  Lawson  was  keenly  alive 
to  the  interests  of  his  house,  and  indefatigable  in  promoting 
them  to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  his  correspondence  shows 
that  he  was  disgusted  with  Downside,  its  buildings,  its 
surroundings,  its  possibilities,  and  made  no  effort  to  con- 
ceal his  sentiments.  This  inevitably  resulted  in  a  rapidly 
developed  division  of  opinion.  Prior  Lawson  looked  with 
longing  eyes  towards  his  old  school  and  monastic  home ; 
and  with  the  dawn  of  better  days  in  France,  and  the  turmoil 
then  raging  in  England  around  the  proposals  for  granting 
emancipation  to  Catholics,  he  was  strongly  in  favour  of  an 
immediate  return  of  St.  Gregory's  to  Douay.  The  senior 
members  of  the  house,  who  could  just  remember  the  olden 
times,  were  inclined  to  the  opinion  of  the  prior.    The  majority, 

159 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

however,  composed  of  young  monks,  not  only  professed  in 
England,  but  also  educated  in  their  mother  country,  with 
whom  the  name  of  Douay  was  fading  into  mere  sentiment, 
were  averse  to  going  abroad,  more  especially  as  their  recent 
entrance  upon  the  Downside  property  promised  permanence 
of  tenure.  Had  Prior  Lawson  taken  the  helm  while  St. 
Gregory's  was  still  at  Acton  Burnell,  and  before  the  negotia- 
tions to  purchase  a  place  in  England  had  been  opened,  his 
course  of  action  might  have  been  intelligible,  and  perhaps  even 
commendable ;  but  in  the  existing  state  of  things  he  unwittingly 
retarded  the  development  of  the  school  during  his  tenure  of 
office.  False  hopes  and  fears  were  raised,  and  in  1818  the 
fortunes  of  St.  Gregory's  stood  very  much  as  in  18 14.  But 
not  to  advance  is  almost  tantamount  to  receding  in  days  of 
keen  competition.  A  notice  of  the  fluctuations  of  policy 
during  this  period  of  our  history  will  help  in  appreciating  the 
difficulties  to  be  surmounted  before  St.  Gregory's  could  attain 
the  position  it  won  in  succeeding  years. 

Prior  Lawson  never  tired  of  repeating  his  conviction  that 
Downside  House  was  a  most  inconvenient  dwelling.  Nor  was 
he  far  wrong.  It  was  too  "cribb'd,  cabin'd,  and  confined." 
On  July  28,  1815,  he  wrote  to  D.  Lorymer :  "It  is  impossible 
to  go  on  in  the  manner  we  are  here  as  a  religious  community, 
and  I  am  disgusted  with  the  house,  in  which  proper  discipline 
cannot  be  carried  on  as  it  ought."  A  month  later  he  is  even 
more  explicit.  "  I  have  no  doubt,  but  if  we  had  place  or  con- 
venience for  fifty  students  (and  I  do  not  wish  for  more  than  that 
number),  we  should  in  a  little  time  have  them.  Our  number 
increases  :  we  have  about  three-and-twenty,  and  I  expect  three 
or  four  more,  when  we  shall  be  completely  crammed.  I  say 
crammed  because  there  are  so  many  in  a  room  together,  which 
appears  not  very  comfortable,  as  the  rooms  are  bad  and  incon- 
venient." In  the  same  letter  he  urges  the  necessity  of  more 
accommodation,  but  with  the  prospect  of  an  early  return  to 

160 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

Douay  any  undertakings  of  the  kind  would  have  involved  a 
mere  waste  of  money.  The  need  of  building  was  not  lost 
sight  of,  for  at  the  chapter  held  in  that  year  the  question  had 
been  mooted,  and  Mr.  Tasker,  a  London  architect,  had  been 
approached  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Knapp,  an  architect  of  Bath, 
was  also  interviewed,  and  Father  Augustine  Baines,  of  Ample- 
forth,  who  was  destined  to  have  closer  relations  with  Downside 
after  he  had  become  Vicar-Apostolic  of  the  Western  District, 
was  consulted  as  an  expert  adviser.  He  in  addition  tendered 
a  plan  of  his  own.  A  letter  he  wrote  about  this  time  to  the 
Prior  of  Downside  foreshadows  the  magnificent  buildings  he 
erected  some  years  afterwards  at  Prior  Park,  for  in  it  he  sug- 
gests as  suitable  for  Downside  all  that  he  embodied  in  stone 
when  he  became  a  bishop.  But  although  Fr.  Baines's  plan 
may  command  approval,  it  was  an  extravagant  one  for  the  year 
1 8 14,  entailing  an  estimated  expenditure  of  from  ;£"  12,000  to 
;^T5,ooo — an  impossible  sum  for  St.  Gregory's  so  soon  after 
the  purchase  of  the  Downside  property.  Fr.  Baines's  own 
-estimate  shews  an  expenditure  of  ;^6ooo,  but  an  examination 
of  his  scheme  is  sufficient  to  demonstrate  that  its  adoption 
would  have  entailed  a  far  heavier  outlay.  The  description  of 
a  building  which  was  never  erected  may  with  advantage  be 
omitted,  but  the  remainder  of  this  long  letter  is  so  full  of 
interesting  information  that  Fr.  Baines  may  be  permitted  to 
explain  the  views  he  held.  The  letter  exhibits  him^  as  a  man 
in  advance  of  the  age  to  which  he  belonged : — 

"  Ampleforth,  September  10,  1814. 

"  Rev.  Sir, — You  will  certainly  think  me  much  to  blame 
for  not  having  complied  earlier  with  the  promise  I  made  of 
sending  you  a  plan  of  a  new  College.  I  have  now  been 
at  home  a  fortnight,  and  I  can  truly  say  that  I  have  not 
during  all  this  time  had  an  hour  to  myself.  If  you  are 
not  accustomed  to  drawing  plans  of  buildings,  you  will   not 

161  L 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

perhaps  understand  why  it  should  take  much  time ;  but  with 
me  it  is  ahvays  a  slow  business,  and  in  the  present  instance  I 
was  wiUing  to  send  my  plans  as  little  faulty  as  possible.  I  wish 
the  convenience  of  the  proposed  erection  may  appear  such  as 
to  encourage  you  at  once  to  undertake  it,  instead  of  patching 
up  your  present  old  house,  which,  after  all  you  can  do  to  it, 
will  never  be  convenient.  I  am  told  Mr.  Tasker  has  given  in 
his  verdict  that  it  will  cost  you  ;£"i  2,000  to  erect  such  a  house 
as  you  want.  I  think  his  ideas  of  your  wants  must  be  very 
magnificent,  for  I  am  sure  you  may  erect  a  most  excellent 
College  for  much  less  money.  I  am  convinced  that  you  would 
cover  in  the  whole  of  my  annexed  plan  and  Ji?iish  as  much 
of  it  as  you  require  for  present  use  for  half  that  sum  or  there- 
abouts. And  how  very  easily  would  the  difference  of  this  sum 
and  that  which  you  will  be  forced  to  lay  out  in  adding  to  your 
present  building  be  made  up  by  its  superior  convenience,  and 
the  greater  accommodation  it  will  afford  you  !  If  you  can  get 
fifty  guineas  a  year  for  your  secular  students,  half  of  this  will 
be  clear  gain,  and  consequently  every  additional  boy  will  bring 
you  in  an  interest  of  above  ;£5oo,  and  twenty  boys  ;^i 0,000. 
With  a  building  like  the  annexed,  you  will  have  in  one  Dormi- 
tory sixty  beds,  and  if  necessary  you  may  make  room  for  as  many 
more.  In  the  roof  of  the  front  part,  a  Dormitory  may  any  time 
be  made  which  will  hold  sixty  beds.  As  for  students,  I  am  sure 
you  will  never  need  to  want  them,  if,  as  I  hope,  you  can  once 
get  the  new  system  of  education  well  established.  On  this 
account  I  am  persuaded  that  the  very  best  speculation  you 
can  make  with  your  money  is  to  sink  as  much  as  is  necessary 
in  a  new  and  good  house.  I  say  this  taking  it  for  granted  that 
you  are  immovably  fixed  at  Downside,  for  if  you  were  not,  I 
have  not  [a]  doubt  that  a  place  near  Bath  might  be  met  with 
which  would  be  both  better  situated  and  would  supersede  the 
necessity  of  much  building.  This  would  probably  be  the  best 
plan  you  could  pursue,  even  supposing  that  you  were  to  lose  a 

162 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

few  hundred  pounds  by  your  bargain  of  Downside.  But  sup- 
posing you  settled  for  good  where  you  now  are,  I  still  retain  my 
opinion  unchanged,  that  the  best  and  at  long-run  the  cheapest 
plan  you  can  pursue  is  to  begin  an  entire  new  building.  Excuse, 
Rev.  Sir,  the  liberty  I  have  taken  of  giving  so  freely  my  advice 
where  it  was  not  asked,  nor  probably  wanted.  I  did  not  intend 
to  have  said  so  much.  .  .  . 

"  You  will  perceive  by  our  prospectus  [/.e.  at  Ampleforth] 
that  we  have  raised  our  pension,  and  I,  for  my  part,  am  in  no 
fear  at  all  of  not  being  able  to  get  as  many  students  as  we  like. 
If  you  had  a  proper  building,  you  would  beat  us  by  much  on 
account  of  the  neighbourhood  of  Bath  and  the  great  distance 
of  any  other  College.  Your  present  situation  is  a  bad  distance 
from  Bath.  It  is  too  far  to  enjoy  the  full  advantages  of  the 
town,  and  it  is  not  near  enough  for  many  of  the  company  who 
will  come  to  visit  you  to  return  without  either  dinner  or  some- 
thing of  the  kind.  You  are  also  rather  too  far  distant  from 
good  stone.  Is  it  not  possible  to  purchase  a  small  piece  of 
land  near  Bath  (the  distance  of  a  mile  or  two  at  most)  on 
which  you  may  erect  your  house  ?  You  might  keep  your  pre- 
sent estate  at  Downside,  and  either  let  it  or  keep  a  hind  upon 
it,  who  could  live  in  the  house.  It  would  serve  you  also  as  a 
kind  of  country  house  to  go  to  sometimes  in  vacations,  &c. 
I  am  so  fully  convinced  of  the  advantages  of  your  having  a 
good  house,  or  rather  a  good  and  convenient  College  near  Bath, 
and  so  entirely  persuaded  that  you  might  in  that  case  have 
one  of  the  finest  and  best  Establishments  in  the  kingdom,  that 
I  cannot'"help  feeling  particularly  wishful  that  you  should  lay 
aside  the  idea  of  patching  your  old  place  at  Downside,  and  do 
something  to  the  purpose.  But  I  find  I  am  again  making  too 
free  with  my  advice. 

"  Dr.  Brewer  would  not  consent  to  my  leaving  Ampleforth 
at  the  present  juncture,  but  he  did  make  me  a  promise  that 
next  Easter  he  would  try  to  do  something  for  me.     What  that 

163 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

something  is  to  be  I  cannot  tell ;  but  I  hope  it  will  be  to 
place  me  under  your  authority  at  Downside.  I  feel  equally 
desirous  of  it  now  as  I  did  before,  and  as  my  reasons  for  wish- 
ing it  were  of  a  substantial  nature,  I  have  no  doubt  my  present 
sentiments  will  continue.  Mr.  Glover  is  now  made  procu- 
rator, and  I  am  again  appointed  Prefect  of  Studies,  an  office 
essentially  necessary  on  Feinaigle's  system,  and  which  I  hope 
I  may  some  time  or  other  have  the  honour  of  discharging  for 
a  time  at  least  at  Downside.  Whatever  may  come  out  of  it,  I 
shall  make  preparations  for  the  event,  and  hold  myself  in 
readiness.  ..." 

Father  Baines  refers  to  his  own  reappointment  as  Prefect 
of  Studies  at  Ampleforth,  "  an  office  essentially  necessary  on 
Feinaigle's  system,"  and  one  which  he  hoped  he  might  "some 
time  or  other  have  the  honour  of  discharging  for  a  time  at 
least  at  Downside."  This  system  of  teaching,  much  in  vogue 
in  those  days,  has  gone  the  way  of  other  fads  and  fancies.  In 
brief,  it  consisted  in  imparting  knowledge  by  a  system  of 
mnemonics,  founded  by  Gregor  von  Feinaigle,  based  on  the 
topical  memory  of  the  ancients,  as  described  by  Cicero  and 
Quinctilian,  though  novel  in  the  methods  of  its  modern  appli- 
cation. Feinaigle  came  to  England  in  1811,  and  made  a 
lecturing  tour  through  many  of  the  chief  cities,  charging  a  fee 
of  five  guineas  for  the  course  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  lectures. 
Crowds  of  people  paid  this  sum ;  but  as  Feinaigle  made  a 
great  mystery  of  his  method,  he  was  denounced  by  some  as 
an  impostor.  Amongst  other  devoted  adherents  was  Father 
Baines,  who  introduced  his  method  of  mnemonics  and  his 
general  plan  of  education  into  Ampleforth,  and  was  loud  in 
his  advocacy  of  this  new  departure  in  education.  Two  of  the 
young  monks  from  Downside  went  to  Ampleforth  to  acquire 
this  special  training,  with  a  view  to  its  subsequent  introduction 
into  the  school  at  Downside.  After  it  had  been  given  a  trial, 
Prior  Lawson's  estimate  of  it  may  be  considered  as  fair  and  true. 

164 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

He  wrote  to  D.  Lorymer  :  "  Your  reflections  with  regard  to  the 
new  system  agree  much  with  my  own  way  of  thinking.  It  has 
its  advantage  in  point  of  teaching  in  some  branches.  For  his- 
tory and  geography  it  is  admirable.  I  was  much  pleased  at  a 
late  examine  to  see  the  progress  I  may  say  all  the  students 
had  made  in  a  short  time.  As  to  public  exhibitions  and  show, 
I  condemn  them ;  they  will  introduce  too  much  of  the  world 
amongst  us,  and,  I  fear,  in  the  end  be  detrimental  to  discipline." 
A  month  after  Downside  had  become  the  home  of  St. 
Gregory's  the  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and  the  Allied 
Powers  was  signed  on  May  30,  18 14.  The  fourth  article 
provided  for  the  restoration  of  confiscated  property  formerly 
possessed  by  British  subjects,  or  the  liquidation  of  their 
claims ;  and  three  or  four  months  later  Dom  Bernard  Barber 
wrote  to  Fr.  Jenkins :  "  We  have  not  deputed  anybody  to 
take  possession  of  Douay  in  our  name,  for  Doctor  [Brewer] 
has  saved  us  the  trouble  of  doing  it  by  taking  it  on  him- 
self. .  .  ."  Even  had  we  been  permitted  to  manage  our  own 
affairs,  the  result  would  not  have  been  more  satisfactory,  for 
trouble  was  created  by  a  Mr.  Ferris,  who  is  alleged  to  have 
had  a  large  share  in  the  removal  of  Dr,  Walsh,  the  first 
administrator  of  the  "united  establishment,"  as  also  of  his 
immediate  successor,  Fr.  Henry  Parker,  and  obtained  the 
office  for  himself  in  18 13,  and,  in  spite  of  every  remonstrance, 
evidently  meant  to  keep  it.  To  understand  the  situation,  it  is 
necessary  to  recall  the  fact  that  after  the  British  had  been 
driven  from  their  colleges  on  the  outbreak  of  the  French 
Revolution,  the  property  so  abandoned  was  declared  to  belong 
to  the  nation.  On  the  return  of  the  French  nation  to  a  saner 
frame  of  mind  witn  the  advent  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  I., 
this  property  was  recognised  as  belonging  to  British  subjects 
notwithstanding  the  late  decrees  to  the  contrary.  A  general 
administrator  of  the  whole  of  the  various  properties  was  ap- 
pointed irrespective  of  the  former  particular  owners ;  and  this 

165 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

official  collected  the  rents  and  applied  them  according  to 
arrangements  made  by  the  French  Government  to  one  institu- 
tion situated  in  Paris.  This  was  technically  supposed  to 
represent  the  whole  of  the  various  former  establishments, 
though  in  reality  it  was  merely  the  Irish  college  situated  in 
the  capital.  This  college  continued  to  enjoy  the  revenues  of 
the  other  British  houses  till  early  in  1816,  in  which  year,  by 
a  new  Ordonnance  of  Louis  XVIII.  on  January  25,  the  union 
of  the  British  establishments  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Ferris  was 
removed,  and  the  separate  possession  of  movable  and  im- 
movable property  which  had  not  already  been  sold  was  re- 
stored to  the  respective  former  owners ;  the  present  superiors 
being  acknowledged  by  name,  except  in  the  case  of  the  English 
Benedictines,  who  by  some  extraordinary  oversight  were 
omitted.  It  was  only  after  great  trouble  that  a  supplemen- 
tary Ordonnance  was  obtained  on  September  7  of  the  same 
year,  rectifying  the  omission  and  putting  DD.  Lawson  and 
Parker  in  possession  of  their  respective  houses  of  Douay  and 
Paris.  It  was,  possibly,  this  recovery  of  the  site  endeared  by 
so  many  memories,  that  helped  to  render  the  members  of  St. 
Gregory's  discontented  with  their  cramped  accommodation  at 
Downside.  From  their  arrival  till  the  chapter  held  the  follow- 
ing July,  they  were  enraptured  with  their  new  house  and  urged 
the  necessity  for  building.  The  chapter  of  18 14,  however, 
limited  the  length  of  any  building  to  be  erected  to  a 
frontage  of  60  feet ;  and  the  president  wisely  withheld  per- 
mission to  commence  building  operations,  till  he  could, 
apparently,  assure  himself  of  the  final  resolution  to  be 
adopted  :  whether  to  sell  Downside  and  return  to  Douay : 
or,  abandoning  the  latter,  to  remain  at  Downside.  And  yet 
a  third  alternative  presented  itself :  to  migrate  to  some  other 
part  of  England ;  for  very  soon  after  chapter  a  change  of 
opinion  began  to  be  manifest.  On  November  29,  18 14,  Fr. 
Luke    Bellew   wrote   to   D.    Lorymer:    "You    are  already  in 

166 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

possession  of  your  beautiful  college  .  .  .  but  if  your  gentle- 
men of  Downside  remain  steadfast  in  their  resolution  not  to 
come  over,  you  will  find  it  difficult  to  dispose  of  your  college 
here.  .  .  ."  This  same  letter  again  indicates  the  careless  and 
slipshod  way  in  which  our  foreign  agents  conducted  our  affairs  ; 
for  just  as  we  were  nearly  losing  Douay  altogether  through  the 
omission  of  our  names  from  the  general  claim  to  British  pro- 
perty, so,  too,  w^e  were  credited  with  other  property  which  in 
reality  belonged  to  the  secular  college,  as  appears  from  the  fol- 
lowing passage  :  " .  .  .  Can  either  you,  my  dear  Sir,  or  your 
gentlemen  of  Downside  furnish  any  plausible  proof  that  the 
Organ  of  St.  Gregory's  was  a  present  made  to  you,  and  not  to 
St.  Vaast  ?  As  your  papers  were  all  seized,  I  fear  you  cannot, 
and  yet  I  have  without  reflection  gone  to  the  trouble  and  ex- 
pense of  having  it  estimated  in  a  legal  manner.  It  has  been 
valued  at  about  9000  livres.  The  expense  attending  this  valua- 
tion I  shall  place  to  my  own  account,  as  it  is  clearly  the  effect 
of  giddiness  and  irreflection  on  my  part.  I  do  not  believe 
that  the  '  extrait  certifie  et  legalise  de  la  vente  de  votre  bien  k 
Esquerchin  et  reconnu  comme  titre  suffisant^^  will  cost  you 
five  livres.  An  odd  circumstance  which  occurred  in  my  re- 
searches for  it  is  that  '  la  ci-devant  maison  de  campagne  du 
grand  College  des  Anglois '  was  sold  as  belonging  to  the  Eng- 
lish Benedictine  monks  of  Douay,  and  it  is  under  this  form  I 
was  obliged  to  send  a  certificate  of  its  sale  to  Mr.  T)aniel,  and 
was  assured  it  would  require  considerable  trouble  and  expense 
to  have  this  error  rectified,  and  that  it  was  much  better  [to] 
leave  to  Messrs.  Parker  and  Marsh  the  care  of  putting  in  their 
claims  for  it  and  restoring  it  to  its  real  possessors,  or  rather  the 
value  of  it,  as  it  has  been  sold.  ..."  The  question  of  the 
organ  here  raised,  may  be  thus  solved.  In  the  council  book 
of  St.  Gregory's,  under  date  of  June  19,  17 19,  it  is  recorded 
that  Dom  Gregory  Greenwood  had  written  from  England  that 
since  his  departure  from  Douay  in  1702  for  the  mission  field, 

167 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

he  had  succeeded  in  collecting  ;^3oo,  and,  being  anxious  to 
dedicate  it  to  the  benefit  of  Alma  Mater,  proposed  to  build 
an  organ,  and  his  offer  was  gratefully  accepted.  Through  the 
temporary  loss  of  this  documentary  proof  a  century  later,  the 
fine  instrument  was  lost  to  us ;  for  Fr.  Parker  thus  writes  on 
June  lo,  1806,  to  D.  Lorymer  :  "  The  Organ  has  been  removed 
to  Our  Lady's  Church  :  we  have  claimed  it,  and  the  Prefect  of 
the  Department  refuses  to  restore  it  only  because  we  have  no 
proofs  of  its  being  built  at  the  expense  of  the  English,  and 
says  it  might  have  been  built  by  St.  Vaast.  I  have  some 
notion  of  a  tradition  that  it  was  built  by  a  Greenwood,  and  a 
daughter  of  Charles  Greenwood,  here  in  Paris,  tells  me  the 
name  was  carved  on  the  Organ.  If  you  have  any  authentic 
documents  they  would  be  useful.  .  .  ."  Could  a  certified  ex- 
tract from  the  council  book  have  been  available,  the  handsome 
instrument  which  now  adorns  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame  in 
Douay  might  have  been  saved. 

To  return  to  affairs  at  Downside.  The  prior,  with  his  low 
opinion  of  the  house  as  a  residence,  thought  it  a  dear  purchase; 
and  as  prospects  brightened  across  the  water,  Mons.  Boule,  a 
Douay  architect,  was  commissioned  by  him  to  furnish  an  esti- 
mate for  the  thorough  repair  of  the  college  buildings  there, 
and  by  the  end  of  the  year  the  prior  had  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing "  the  consent  of  his  young  confreres  to  accompany  him  to 
Douay ; "  so  wrote  Fr.  Bellew.  At  the  same  time,  as  our  archives 
reveal,  uneasiness  was  manifesting  itself  at  Downside  lest  the 
president  had  ulterior  plans  with  regard  to  the  destination  of 
the  Douay  house,  following  the  precedent  of  a  generation  back. 
And  yet,  about  the  same  time,  the  president  expressed  his  ap- 
proval to  Fr.  Parker  that  "  our  confreres^  late  of  Acton  Burnell, 
have  altered  their  minds,  and  now  seem  willing  to  return  "  [  to 
Douay].  Early  in  March  18 15  the  prior  writes  in  expectation 
of  regaining  possession  of  the  Douay  property  within  three  or 
four  weeks,  relying  on  his  advices  from  there  that  the  present 

168 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

occupier,  a  manufacturer  of  beetroot  sugar,  was  willing  to 
vacate  the  premises ;  and  then  continues  :"...!  must 
inform  you  [D.  Lorymer]  that  as  we  have  decided  to  go  to 
Douay,  I  wish  to  push  on  the  business.  When  the  College 
is  entered  upon  by  us,  unjust  as  it  is,  we  shall  have  to  pay  the 
rent  for  [the]  remaining  part  of  the  lease.  It  is  better  to  submit 
to  that  than  to  have  the  house  go  to  ruin.  The  sooner  we 
settle  there,  the  sooner  we  shall  have  scholars  and  be  enabled 
to  pay  the  rent.  .  .  .  Would  it  not  be  best  to  send  our  boxes, 
&c.,  by  water  to  London  and  thence  down  the  Thames  and  on 
to  Dunkerque  ?  I  mean  to  sell  most  of  our  property  here  and 
have  as  little  to  convey  as  possible.  ..."  In  consequence  of 
the  imminence  of  the  community's  departure  from  Downside, 
Mons.  Boule  received  orders  to  set  about  the  necessary  repairs 
without  delay ;  but  just  on  the  eve  of  the  projected  return  to 
the  old  home  at  Douay,  Napoleon  suddenly  broke  loose  from 
his  enforced  retreat  in  Elba,  and  began  the  Hundred  Days^ 
Campaign  which  terminated  so  disastrously  for  his  hopes  and 
ambitions  on  the  bloody  field  of  Waterloo,  and  in  the  subse- 
quent inglorious  exile  on  the  rocks  of  St.  Helena.  These 
events  not  only  brought  the  negotiations  at  Douay  to  a  stand- 
still, but  happily  caused  some  of  the  Gregorians  to  return  to 
their  former  desire  to  remain  in  England,  so  that  the  president 
wrote  in  July  :  "...  Before  Bonaparte's  return,  all  our  young 
people  at  Downside  appeared  very  desirous  to  return  to  Douay. 
It  will  now  require  some  address  to  bring  them  back  to  the 
same  way  of  thinking."  The  chief  opponents  of  the  idea  of 
leaving  England  were  two  monks  destined  to  take  prominent 
places  in  the  hierarchy  of  the  Church,  Br.  Placid  Morris,  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Mauritius,  and  Br.  Bede  Folding,  the  pioneer 
bishop  of  Australia  and  first  Archbishop  of  Sydney. 

Nevertheless,  the  prior  by  no  means  relinquished  his  pur- 
pose, and  accordingly  went  to  Douay  in  September,  accom- 
panied by  Dom   Bernard  Barber,  whom,  from  his  influence 

169 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

with  the  community,  he  wished  to  secure  as  a  strong  advocate 
on  his  side.  With  the  assent  of  the  town  authorities,  who 
received  them  very  graciously,  he  quietly  took  possession  of 
old  St.  Gregory's ;  but  Mr,  Ferris,  the  former  administrator, 
suddenly  appeared  on  the  scene,  seized  upon  3000  francs  of 
Gregorian  money  in  the  hands  of  the  Douay  agent,  M.  Vende- 
ville,  and  threatened  to  eject  the  prior  from  the  premises.  This 
difficulty  was  successfully  disposed  of,  and  all  things  put  e7i  train 
for  preparing  the  buildings  for  occupation  by  the  Gregorian 
monks  and  boys.  Prior  Lawson  returned  to  Downside  after 
a  fortnight's  stay  in  Douay.  Negotiations  dragged,  and  in 
December  he  records  the  reasons  for  the  prolonged  delay 
in  leaving  Downside  for  Douay.  "  As  soon  as  I  obtain  news 
that  our  concerns  [claim  for  indemnity]  are  settled,  and  that 
the  church  is  returned  to  us,  and  that  there  are  satisfactory 
reasons  to  consider  the  French  government  firmly  established, 
I  shall,  if  money,  which  is  very  difficult  to  find,  can  possibly 
be  procured,  order  every  necessary  preparation  to  be  made  at 
Douay  for  our  return.  I  hope  all  impediments  will  be  re- 
moved against  the  spring."  His  hopes  were  not  entirely 
realised;  but  the  removal  was  decided  upon.  In  August 
1816  the  president  and  the  definitors  (his  council)  met  at 
Downside,  and,  after  hearing  all  who  objected  to  the  proposal, 
pronounced  in  favour  of  it.  This  decision  created  much  dis- 
appointment in  many  of  the  community;  and  Dr.  Elloi,  a 
French  emigre  priest  who  was  professor  of  theology  at  St. 
Gregory's,  declared  that  he  was  ready  to  fall  down  upon  his 
knees  if  he  could  thereby  persuade  the  prior  to  remain  in 
England. 

Meanwhile  a  Royal  Ordonnance  was  issued  giving  Prior 
Lawson  possession  of  the  Douay  property ;  and  in  conse- 
quence he  made  another  journey  to  Douay  in  November 
1 8 16,  accompanied  by  Dom  Augustine  Harrison,  deputing 
Dom  Bernard  Barber  in  his  absence  to  profess  six  novices 

170 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

who  had  all  been  boys  in  the  school  at  Acton  Burnell  and 
Downside,  and  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  to 
make  their  vows  in  the  new  home.  On  this  interesting  occa- 
sion "  an  immense  concourse  of  strangers  from  Bath  "  came 
"  to  witness  the  ceremony,"  who,  only  through  the  postpone- 
ment of  the  profession  for  a  week,  narrowly  escaped  a  fatal 
accident ;  for  "  the  company  in  the  parlour  would  have  found 
themselves  precipitated  through  the  floor  into  the  room 
below."  For  in  the  interim,  a  room  in  the  basement  was 
being  whitewashed,  and  the  workman  employed  found  that 
one  of  the  main  beams  holding  up  the  floor  of  the  room  above 
was  completely  rotten,  and  the  weight  of  a  large  number  of 
extra  persons  above  would  inevitably  have  caused  it  to  give 
way. 

The  prior  was  so  discouraged  by  what  he  saw  and  heard 
during  his  second  visit  to  Douay  that  he  reluctantly  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  proposed  migration  thither  must  be 
given  up  finally  and  for  ever.  Dom  Harrison  wrote  in  his 
name  giving  the  community  at  home  the  reasons  that  deter- 
mined his  decision,  which  may  be  thus  summarised.  He 
learnt  at  Douay  that  he  was  named  only  administrator  of  the 
building,  that  he  and  his  community  would  be  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  Cambray,  that  the  country 
house  of  Esquerchin  would  not  be  restored  to  them,  and  that 
therefore  Gregorians  would  have  to  exchange  the^  green  fields 
around  Downside  for  four  walls  in  a  town.  He  was  informed 
also  that  the  united  administration  had  heavy  claims  against 
his  property  for  arrears  in  contributions  to  the  common  ex- 
penses. He  found,  too,  that  the  cost  of  living  at  Douay  was 
almost  as  great  as  in  England.  A  Httle  later  he  learned  that 
not  only  would  it  be  impossible  to  recover  the  church,  but 
that  the  Government  had  determined  to  build  the  public 
prison  close  by,  and  also  to  take  a  part  of  their  garden  for  the 
purpose.     He  returned,  therefore,  to  England  in  December, 

171 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

compelled  by  the  force  of  circumstances  to  agree  with  the 
younger  members  of  St.  Gregory's ;  so  that  in  the  following 
April  a  formal  petition  was  presented  to  the  president  begging 
him  to  rescind  the  resolution  passed  by  him  and  his  coun- 
cillors in  the  preceding  August.  The  idea  of  reviving  St. 
Gregory's  in  Douay  was  thus  formally  abandoned.  The  pro- 
perty was  still  recognised  by  the  French  Government  as 
belonging  to  the  English  Benedictine  monks,  and  by  the 
Benedictines  as  belonging  to  St.  Gregory's ;  but  as  no  benefit 
could  be  derived  from  it  except  by  Benedictines  resident  on 
French  territory — such  was  the  tenor  of  the  decree — and  as 
the  Gregorian  community  had  finally  declined  to  accept  that 
condition,  it  remained  to  determine  what  use  should  be  made 
of  it.  The  problem  was  solved  when  St.  Gregory's  made  over 
the  property  to  the  sister  community  of  St.  Edmund's  of 
Paris,  which  was  anxious  to  revive  its  conventual  existence 
that  had  ceased  at  the  Revolution.  The  surviving  members 
of  it  had  no  prospect  of  recovering  their  own  monastery ;  and 
when  the  Douay  property  was  assigned  to  them,  they  were 
able  to  reconstitute  St.  Edmund's ;  and  at  this  day  it  has 
gained  for  itself  no  mean  place  in  the  estimation  of  English 
Catholics  through  its  excellent  work  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Church.  Its  career  will  have  a  special  interest  for  all  Grego- 
rians,  for  it  has  continued  in  the  ancient  town  of  Douay  the 
remembrance  of  the  connection  of  St.  Gregory's  with  that  seat 
of  learning  and  that  harbour  of  the  oppressed ;  and  within  its 
grounds,  nay,  within  its  very  walls,  have  lived  and  worked 
some  of  the  best  and  most  distinguished  men  that  St.  Gregory's 
has  produced. 

After  the  decision  to  remain  in  England  had  been  made, 
the  absolute  necessity  of  at  once  enlarging  the  buildings  at 
Downside  to  meet  the  most  pressing  needs  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  all  who  were  interested  in  the  welfare  and  development 
of  St.   Gregory's.      The  resolution  of  the  president  and  his 

172 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

council  enjoining  the  return  of  St.  Gregory's  to  Douay  having 
been  rescinded,  Prior  Lawson's  next  care  was  to  set  about 
building.  But  where?  Already  some  began  to  speak  of 
looking  for  a  more  suitable  place  than  Downside.  All  were 
agreed  on  one  point — that  there  should  be  no  delay,  for,  as  the 
prior  wrote  to  his  correspondent,  Dom  Lorymer,  early  in 
181 7  :  ".  .  .  It  would  not  be  wise,  it  would  appear,  to  remain 
unsettled  for  two,  three,  perhaps  more  years  to  come.  The 
question  may  be  whether  we  shall  remain  here  or  [go]  else- 
where in  England.  I  conjecture  here.  I  wish  things  were 
decided :  the  sooner  the  better.  .  .  ." 

An  interruption  to  these  plans  came  from  an  unexpected 
quarter.  On  May  25,  181 7,  President  Brewer  took  the  re- 
solution of  summoning  an  extraordinary  meeting  of  General 
Chapter  for  June  18,  to  concert  measures  "for  the  general 
welfare  of  our  two  communities  of  St.  Gregory  and  of  St.  Law- 
rence, and  for  adopting  some  speedy  measures  to  meet  the 
existing  difficulties."  Two  days  after  its  reception,  this 
summons  was  rescinded,  and  so  unaccountable  did  the  presi- 
dent's action  seem  at  Downside,  where  there  existed  no  cause 
for  alarm,  that  Dom  Placid  Morris  remarked  in  a  letter  to 
Dom  Lorymer :  "  Mr.  L[awson]  is  in  a  great  agitation,  not 
being  able  to  conceive  what  is  going  forward.  As  to  the 
preservation  of  St.  Gregory's,  he  thinks  that  point  is  already 
settled  without  any  interference  from  any  qiiarter.  .  .  ." 
Meanwhile,  the  president  forbade  any  building  to  be  under- 
taken at  Downside.  The  explanation  of  this  sudden  decision 
must  be  found  in  the  determination  of  President  Brewer  to 
renew  the  schemes  for  a  union  of  the  houses.  The  resuscita- 
tion of  the  idea  is  intelligible.  Dr.  Brewer  and  others, 
amongst  whom  was  Dom  Anselm  Lorymer,  were  of  opinion 
that  after  the  severe  losses  entailed  upon  all  the  houses  by 
the  French  Revolution,  the  safest  course  to  adopt  was  one 
of  concentration  rather  than  of  expansion.     Had  their  views 

173 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

gained  the  day,  the  number  of  schools  and  monasteries 
would  have  been  diminished,  but  the  combination  of  two  or 
more  schools  would  probably  not  have  produced  a  larger  or 
more  influential  establishment.  This  effort  to  bring  about 
the  absorption  of  one  house  by  a  sister  house  had  been  in 
former  days  strenuously  opposed  by  Prior  Jerome  Sharrock, 
and  was  now  resisted  by  Prior  Lawson.  He  evidently  dis- 
played some  heat  in  his  correspondence  at  this  period.  He 
writes  to  Dom  Lorymer  on  October  20,  1816  :  "  .  .  .  I  wish 
I  could  have  more  confidence  in  [Z>r.  Brewer  and  others']  .  .  . 
I  had  the  best  opinion  of  them  before  I  came  to  this  situation  ; 
but  the  constant  buzzing  of  systems  and  hints  of  Union  has 
made  me  what  Mr.  Parker  chooses  to  name  jealous.  I  know 
Union  is  the  aim  of  a  Party.  It  would  now  seem  from  what 
I  have  heard  that  they  think  their  own  establishment  in  a  pre- 
carious situation.  .  .  .  There  must  be  a  change  of  system, 
or  Dr.  Brewer  and  the  party  will  cause  a  serious  disunion 
amongst  us.  I  am  determined  to  have  nothing  to  say  to 
them.  I  shall  offend  by  defending  my  own  house,  but  I 
cannot  help  it.  They  are  faulty,  not  I.  I  say  all  this 
plainly  to  yourself,  because  it  has  been  suspected  that  you 
were  somewhat  favourable  to  notions  of  Union.  .  .  ."  This 
letter  shews  that  the  projects  complained  of  had  been  in 
the  air  for  some  considerable  time  before  they  became  public 
property  about  Eastertide  in  181 7. 

It  was  not  the  prior  alone  who  was  perturbed  :  others  shared 
his  agitation.  Thus  Dom  Morris  exclaims :  " .  .  .  [the  sum- 
mons to  chapter]  conveys  a  very  strange  idea  of  some  plans 
being  in  agitation  of  which  we  are  ignorant.  Why  talk  of  the 
preservation  of  St.  Gregory's?  It  wants  nothing  of  the  sort, 
but  would  do  much  better  were  it  left  alone  entirely.  To  be 
sure,  St.  Gregory's  has  never  made  so  much  dash  or  so  great 
noise  in  the  world  as  St.  Lawrence's  has  within  these  few 
years.  ..."     The  last  few  words  refer  to  the  public  exhibi- 

174 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

tions  held  there  by  Fr.  Baines,  in  accordance  with  the  recom- 
mendations of  Feinaigle's  system. 

Dr.  Brewer's  quadrennial  visitation  of  St.  Gregory's  quickly 
followed,  and  a  letter  written  by  Prior  Lawson  to  Dom  Lorymer 
immediately  upon  its  conclusion  throws  much  light  upon  the 
disquieting  rumours  that  were  prevalent.  "...  The  embar- 
rassments of  the  concerns  of  Ampleforth  have  made  a  most 
strong  impression  upon  him  [Dr.  Brewer],  and  when  he  first 
arrived  he  seemed  very  unwell,  and  like  a  person,  I  thought, 
who  had  a  tendency  to  a  stroke  of  some  kind.  He  was  ex- 
tremely pensive  and  low,  and  allowed  that  the  distressing 
affairs  of  Ampleforth  were  the  cause  of  his  being  unwell.  .  .  . 
His  mind  seems  full  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  our  accepting  the 
house  of  Ampleforth  and  settling  there.  He  thinks  their  affairs 
irretrievable.  It  was  on  account  of  the  embarrassments  of 
Ampleforth  and  the  extraordinary  plan  to  retrieve  that  house 
that  the  intended  General  Chapter  was  called.  The  summons 
to  the  Chapter  was  recalled,  but  it  would  seem  that  the  plan 
for  removing  this  establishment  is  not  abandoned.  I  shall 
make  no  reflection  upon  it  at  present.  It  appears  most 
singular  that  whilst  Dr.  Brewer  is  distressed  in  the  extreme 
about  the  irretrievable  embarrassments  of  the  affairs  of  Ample- 
forth, Mr.  Baines  should  boast  of  the  future  success  of  his 
plans  of  education,  and  that  he  should  put  the  house  to 
serious  expense  by  his  exhibition  at  this  time  in  particular.  .  .  , 
I  wish  they  would  give  over  planning  in  our  regard.  We  cer- 
tainly want  a  house,  but  we  have  not  requested  them  to  give 
us  one.  .  .  ." 

Dr.  Brewer's  forebodings  were  premature,  not  to  say  un- 
warranted. St.  Lawrence's  not  only  surmounted  the  particular 
difficulties  which  then  appeared  to  beset  it,  but  some  years 
later  survived  the  crisis  brought  upon  it  by  Dr.  Baines's  schemes 
of  secularisation,  a  crisis  far  more  formidable  than  that  whose 
forecast  so  disturbed  Dr.   Brewer.      Since  that  date   it   has 

175 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

flourished  so  remarkably  that  within  the  past  few  years  it 
has  been  enabled  to  erect  a  magnificent  pile  of  buildings 
exceeding  both  in  extent  and  in  richness  of  design  the 
buildings  at  Downside,  fine  as  these  undoubtedly  are. 

Meanwhile  the  long  vacation  had  come  and  gone,  and 
nothing  had  been  done  to  improve  the  accommodation  at 
Downside;  in  his  despair  of  ever  getting  the  wants  of  the 
establishment  attended  to.  Prior  Lawson  again  wrote  to  Dom 
Lorymer  on  October  1 1  :  "  I  am  distressed  when  parents  call 
here,  as  our  house  is  not  what  we  wish,  and  you  know  how 
sadly  any  exertion  we  might  make  to  improve  our  situation  is 
counteracted  and  checked  by,  I  am  sorry  to  say  it,  the  deter- 
mination of  the  Regimen  to  pay  no  attention  to  my  Memorial, 
and  by  other  wild  plans  of  some  of  Ampleforth.  We  have 
heard  so  much  that  I  cannot  speak  of  them  with  patience.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Baines  is  one  of  the  schemers  for  the  welfare  of  St. 
Gregory's.  A  new  scheme  is  now  thought  of — that  of  remov- 
ing this  establishment  to  Prior  Park.  Prior  Park  is  a  very 
large  and  I  may  say  a  magnificent  pile  of  buildings  about  a 
mile  from  Bath.  ..." 

While  wearily  waiting  for  the  necessary  permission  to  com- 
mence building  operations,  the  prior  did  not  spend  the  period 
of  delay  in  idleness,  but  issued  the  following  circular  with  the 
object  of  interesting  the  outside  pubHc,  the  friends  and  past 
students  of  St.  Gregory's,  in  the  serious  and  expensive  under- 
taking to  which  they  were  anxious  to  commit  themselves  so 
soon  as  the  needful  funds  should  be  considered  adequate : — 

'*  Begging  Circular.     {Circa  1817.) 

"  In  making  an  appeal  to  the  Catholic  Body,  the  Religious 
of  the  House  of  St.  Gregory  at  Downside  are  too  well  aware  of 
the  numerous  applications  now  pressing  on  its  benevolence 
from  all  sides,  not  to  feel  great  reluctance  in  presenting  their 

176 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

necessitous  plea  also  at  this  moment.     But  the  urgency  of 
the  case  allows  no  longer  delay. 

"  Bereft  of  the  greater  part  of  their  funds  and  effects  by  the 
French  Revolution,  the  generosity  and  piety  of  a  gentleman 
(brought  up  at  their  College  at  Douay)  afforded  them  for  some 
years  an  asylum  on  his  estates,  but  as  they  could  not  intrude 
for  ever  on  his  bounty  they  collected  the  scattered  wrecks  of 
their  property,  and  purchased  a  few  acres  of  land  in  an  eligible 
situation  near  Bath,  with  a  house  indeed  upon  it,  but  in  a  very 
indifferent  state  of  repair,  and  which  they  soon  found  too 
small  for  their  increasing  numbers. 

"  A  principal  part  of  their  support  is  naturally  derived  from 
the  exercise  of  what  is  also  a  main  purport  of  their  establish- 
ment— the  instruction  of  Children  and  their  formation  in  those 
virtuous  and  religious  principles  which  ought  to  regulate  their 
future  conduct  through  life ;  but  they  are  materially  cramped 
in  the  execution  of  this  duty,  and  in  taking  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  pupils  to  render  it  availing  to  their  own  support,  by  the 
want  of  a  commodious  and  decent  Chapel,  as  the  whole  of  the 
Community,  pupils,  and  servants  have  at  present  no  other 
place  for  the  performance  of  their  religious  duties  than  a 
small  rooqi   16  feet  square. 

"  The  absolute  necessity,  therefore,  of  a  larger  place  of 
divine  worship  must  be  evident  to  every  one,  and  the  means 
of  the  Community  are  totally  inadequate  to  accomplish  it. 
Still,  hoping  to  receive  some  assistance  from  abroad,  by  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  British  Claims,  they  have  deferred 
making  their  case  known,  trusting  that  but  a  small  attention 
to  their  just  demands  would  relieve  them  from  the  painful 
necessity  of  intruding  themselves  on  the  well-known  charity 
and  generosity  of  their  Catholic  Brethren.  A  recent  Ordin- 
ance, however,  of  the  French  Government  has  crushed  all 
their  expectations,  and  compelled  them  also  to  seek  refuge  in 
the  pious  liberality  of  the  Body. 

177  M 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

"  They  have,  however,  one  satisfaction — their  charitable 
Contributors  may  rest  assured  that  their  assistance  is  not 
given  to  any  expensive  or  visionary  scheme — but  that  the 
good  effects  of  it  must  and  will  be  coeval  with  the  existence 
of  the  Body ;  and  will  tend  to  forward  continually  the  most 
sacred  objects  of  religion  and  piety ;  and  the  more  frequent 
and  respectful  offering  of  the  holy  sacrifice ;  thus  promoting 
the  honour  and  glory  of  God,  and  beneficially  assisting  the 
religious  education  of  youth,  and  the  formation  of  subjects 
for  the  sacred  functions  of  the  ministry. 

"  These  inducements,  they  cannot  but  feel,  are  amply  sufii- 
cient  to  excite  the  charitable  feelings  of  the  opulent  and 
liberal  in  their  regard,  especially  of  all  those  who  have  experi- 
enced or  witnessed  the  strenuous  efforts  of  the  Body  to 
promote  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  tender  objects  entrusted 
to  their  care.  They  commit  their  cause,  therefore,  with  fear- 
less confidence  to  their  pious  beneficence — requesting  only 
to  inform  their  friends,  that  the  prayers  of  the  Community 
will  be  frequently  offered  to  the  Most  High,  in  behalf  of  their 
Benefactors,  whether  living  or  dead." 

They  were  in  want  of  a  "  decent  and  commodious  chapel." 
Let  us  picture  to  ourselves  what  they  had  hitherto  been 
obliged  to  put  up  with.  A  room  i6  feet  square,  now  known 
as  the  outer  guests'  parlour,  situated  to  the  right  of  the 
present  entrance  to  the  old  house,  was  fitted  up  for  the  cele- 
bration of  divine  worship.  It  was  at  that  time  wainscotted  in 
oak  up  to  the  ceiling,  like  the  next  room  now  used  as  the 
guests'  dining-room.  In  those  days  the  window-tax  was 
in  full  operation,  and  so  the  south  windows  facing  the 
lawn  had  been  blocked  to  avoid  the  tax  on  "God's  light." 
The  altar  stood  between  the  other  two  windows  facing  east- 
wards towards  the  village  of  Stratton,  and  on  the  wall  above 
hung  a  picture  of  the  Resurrection.     On  the  altar  itself  were 

178 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

placed  two  plated  branch  candlesticks,  and  a  pair  of  small 
silver  ones  which  are  still  doing  duty.  The  boys  took  up 
their  position  immediately  in  front  of  the  altar,  and  were 
accommodated  with  plain  benches  without  backs,  while  chairs 
along  either  side  of  the  room  were  reserved  for  the  monks. 
An  ancient  piano  stood  at  the  back  of  the  room,  and  on  big 
days  it  was  supported  by  two  violoncellos.  On  Sundays,  when 
the  neighbouring  Catholics  came  for  "prayers" — as  the  direc- 
tories of  those  days  cautiously  indicated  the  celebration  of 
holy  mass — and  venturesome  Protestants,  overcoming  their 
fears  by  their  curiosity,  stole  in  to  see  what  it  was  all  about, 
they  were  accommodated  in  the  room  itself,  while  the  com- 
munity and  the  boys  overflowed  into  the  passage.  Abbot 
Snow  has  painted  the  picture  for  us:  "A  room  16  by  16, 
a  priest  clad  in  an  unadorned  vestment  before  a  make-shift 
altar,  at  his  heels  a  thurifer  and  two  acolythes  in  the  only 
three  cassocks,  men  standing  along  the  sides  of  the  room  in 
double-breasted  cutaway  coats  and  profuse  neckcloths,  boys 
in  various  attire  on  benches  in  the  middle,  and  at  the  back 
the  orchestra,  the  piano — a  piano  of  18 14,  remember — and 
two  grave  seigniors  working  away  at  the  'cellos.  To  us  it 
is  bizarre,  but  it  has  its  pathos ;  it  was  a  part  of  the 
beginnings." 

With  the  summer  of  18 18  the  quadrennium  came  to  an  end, 
an  anxious  one  for  Downside  and  the  English  Benedictines. 
The  sorrows,  anxieties,  and  lack  of  support  of  his  plans  for  the 
welfare  of  his  house  determined  Prior  Lawson  to  lay  dow^n  his 
office.  He  was  succeeded  by  Dom  Bernard  Barber,  then  a 
very  young  man,  but  one  who  was  destined,  by  his  firmness, 
to  save  not  only  St.  Gregory's  school,  but  also  the  monastery, 
from  extinction ;  and  he,  in  conjunction  with  a  very  brilliant 
member  of  his  community,  Dom  Joseph  Brown  (afterwards 
the  revered  first  Bishop  of  Newport  and  Menevia),  may  be 
reckoned  as  amongst  the  best  and  truest  sons  of  St.  Gregory's. 

179 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

Luke  Barber,  known  in  religion  as  Dom  Bernard,  was  born 
in  1790  of  parents  in  well-to-do  circumstances,  living  in  Mac- 
clesfield. He  was  sent  to  St.  Gregory's  at  Acton  Burnell  in 
1800  ;  another  eight  years  found  him  a  professed  member  of  the 
community,  and  in  18 14  he  was  raised  to  the  priesthood.  When,, 
therefore,  the  duties  of  the  priorship  fell  upon  his  shoulders, 
he  was  barely  eight-and-twenty  years  of  age.  Of  a  quiet  and 
unobtrusive  character,  he  had,  nevertheless,  such  influence  with 
his  brethren  that  Prior  Lawson  relied  much  on  his  co-opera- 
tion to  secure  the  acquiescence  of  the  dissentients  in  favour  of 
a  return  to  Douay.  Time  and  circumstances,  however,  had 
brought  to  him,  as  to  others,  disillusionment ;  and  when,  in 
July  1 81 8,  he  was  installed  as  Prior  of  Downside,  the  second 
to  hold  that  title  and  office,  he  was  fully  determined  to  push 
on  the  hitherto  neglected  proposals  to  build,  and  to  translate 
purpose  into  accomplishment. 

Dom  Placid  Morris,  being  in  bad  health,  and  needing 
change,  was  speedily  commissioned  to  undertake  a  begging 
tour  in  Ireland,  a  quarter  till  then  never  appealed  to.  His 
stirring  circular  was  scattered  broadcast ;  his  own  persuasive- 
ness did  much  ;  and  others,  too,  began  to  interest  themselves 
actively  in  the  work  of  gathering  subscriptions ;  and,  before 
long,  a  printed  list  of  actual  subscribers  appeared,  with  sig- 
nificant and  suggestive  vacant  spaces  between  the  alphabetical 
divisions  for  the  insertion  of  additional  names.  Several  of 
these  lists  thus  added  to  by  the  various  collectors  still  exist 
in  the  Downside  archives,  representing  close  on  ;£"85o  secured 
for  the  building  fund. 

This  energy  and  determination  carried  the  day,  broke  dow^n 
opposition,  and  secured  the  concurrence  of  the  very  men  who 
before  had  been  the  primary  cause  of  delay.  Thus  Dr.  Marsh, 
acting  evidently  in  the  name  of  the  president,  at  that  time 
near  his  end,  wrote  from  Downside  to  Dom  Lorymer,  who, 
much  as  he  loved  St.  Gregory's,  was  infected  with  an  unduly 

180 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

developed  gift  of  caution  :  "...  I  think  it  would  be  trifling  with 
the  family  here  and  continuing  to  impose  on  the  public  if  we 
do  not  erect  a  house  and  chapel  here.  I  beg  leave  to  differ 
from  you  in  your  notions  about  an  approaching  revolution. 
Such  an  event  may  happen ;  but  such  possibilities  should  not, 
and,  I  hope,  will  not,  deter  me  from  granting  the  family  leave 
to  undertake  what  is  absolutely  wanted  here.  We  shall  act 
with  prudence,  but  not  be  frightened  by  pretending  to  dive 
into  future  events  and  to  foresee  jnomenta  quce  Pater  posuit  in 
sua  potestate.  .  .  ." 

With  the  immediate  prospect  of  committing  themselves 
irrevocably  to  some  spot  by  sinking  money  in  bricks  and 
mortar,  by  literally  pushing  their  roots  deep  into  the  soil, 
the  question  of  site  again  became  of  paramount  importance, 
and  called  for  a  final  settlement.  It  is  hard  to  understand, 
with  our  experience,  why  at  that  time,  so  soon  after  acquiring 
the  property,  a  dislike  of  Downside  should  have  developed 
itself.  The  fact  remains,  however,  to  be  put  on  record  ;  and 
accordingly,  early  in  1820,  we  find  site  after  site  being  viewed 
and  discussed.  Of  the  many  properties  in  the  market,  one 
at  Burton,  near  Christchurch,  Hants,  most  commended  itself. 
The  following  letter  written  by  the  prior  to  Dom  Lorymer, 
preserves  to  us  full  particulars  of  the  spot  at  one  moment 
nearly  adopted  as  the  home  of  St.  Gregory's  : — 

"  Downside,  April  5,  1820. 
"...  Whether  we  shall  build  here  or  remove  to  Burton 
is  a  question  which  will  require  most  mature  and  deliberate 
consideration.  The  motive  which  in  the  first  instance  in- 
duced me  to  lay  the  proposition  of  removal  before  Dr. 
B[rewer]  was  this.  It  was  in  the  beginning  of  Lent,  when 
I,  disUking  to  travel  about  during  that  time,  sent  Messrs. 
Harrison  and  Folding  to  look  at  this  house  at  Burton. 
Their  report   informed   me  that  the  house  was  considerably 

181 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

larger  than  this ;  dry,  substantial,  and  in  excellent  repair ; 
that  there  were  outbuildings,  which,  at  a  trifling  expense, 
comparatively  speaking,  might  be  fitted  up  into  good  and 
commodious  apartments  for  the  students,  at  a  small  dis- 
tance from  the  house.  There  is  a  barn,  70  feet  long  and 
19  broad,  built  of  brick,  with  an  excellent  roof,  which  they 
proposed  to  remove,  and  with  the  materials  to  build  a  Chapel 
adjoining  the  house.  The  expenses  for  converting  the  out- 
buildings into  the  Students'  apartments  and  removing  barn 
and  building  up  Chapel  they  had  estimated  by  a  builder  and 
a  carpenter,  who  said  they  would  contract  to  make  the  pro- 
posed alterations  for  ;!^i4oo.  The  sum  required  for  pur- 
chase of  the  house  and  garden  and  field — in  all  four  acres — is 
;^26oo.  This  sum,  added  to  the  above  ;£'i400,  will  make  a 
sum-total  of  ;£"4ooo.  If  we  could  settle  ourselves  comfort- 
ably there  and  have  a  decent  College  for  that  sum  of  money, 
I  thought  it  prudent  to  give  the  matter  a  fair  consideration, 
and  on  this  ground  I  laid  the  affair  before  Dr.  Brewer,  who 
ridicules  the  alterations  we  proposed  to  make,  as  diminutive 
and  paltry.  If  he  requires  more  considerable  erections  than 
we  intended,  this  entirely  changes  the  grounds  on  which  I 
first  proposed  to  adopt  Burton.  If  we  are  to  run  up  new 
buildings  which  will  make  the  expense  at  Burton  amount  to 
^5000  or  ^6000,  it  cannot  be  a  question  whether  it  will 
be  better  to  remain  here  or  not.  The  expense  of  building 
here  will  be  less  than  building  at  Burton.  .  .  ." 

In  the  end,  Burton  and  every  other  site  was  rejected  in 
favour  of  the  spot  chosen  by  Dom  Peter  Kendal ;  and  a  plan 
having  been  selected,  a  start  was  made  in  the  summer  of  1820  ; 
a  momentous  occasion  in  our  history,  inasmuch  as  it  rooted 
St.  Gregory's  to  the  place  we  know  and  love. 

The  neighbours  had  taken  great  interest  in  the  proposed 
undertaking.     Sir  John  Cox  Hippisley,  M.P.,  of  Ston  Easton 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

Park,  who  had  always  been  most  friendly  to  us,  very  kindly 
introduced  his  own  architect,  a  Mr.  Underwood,  who  prepared 
a  plan  after  the  classical  style  then  much  in  vogue.  The  old 
house  was  to  be  retained  for  the  use  of  the  community,  and 
connected  with  a  central  building  by  a  corridor ;  while  another 
corresponding  corridor  on  the  other  side  would  have  led  to 
the  school,  to  be  constructed  in  facsimile  of  the  old  mansion 
externally,  but  internally  adapted  to  the  special  requirements 


SCHOOL   BUILDINGS,    SHEWING   THE    "OLD    HOUSE"    IN    THE 
FOREGROUND 


of  the  boys.  This  plan  was,  however,  declined.  The  monks 
remembered  their  Gothic  church  at  Douay,  and  were  not 
unmindful  of  the  beauty  of  the  ancient  abbeys  of  England ; 
and  though  they  could  not  hope  to  rival  those  glorious  monu- 
ments, they  were  led  to  adopt  the  more  modest  scheme  of 
Mr.  H.  E.  Goodrich,  a  young  architect  of  Bath,  whose  ideas 
were  in  agreement  with  the  ancient  national  characteristics  of 
ecclesiastical  and  collegiate  architecture  in  England.  All  pre- 
liminaries being  satisfactorily  settled,  the  foundation-stone  of 

183 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

the  new  building  was  laid  with  great  ceremony  on  the  feast  of 
St.  Benedict,  July  ii,  1820.  The  progress  made  with  the 
work  was  not  phenomenal,  for  just  a  year  later  the  prior 
stated :  "  We  are  getting  on  with  our  chapel,  but  it  is  still 
more  than  20  feet  from  the  roof.  The  College  will  soon  be 
ready ;  the  weather  has  been  so  favourable  that  the  plaster 
dries  as  fast  as  it  is  put  on.  Persons  come  from  far  and  near 
to  view  the  building.  It  is  the  admiration  of  the  country.  .  .  ." 
Various  delays  occurred,  and  the  school  was  not  ready  for 
habitation  quite  so  soon  as  anticipated;  but  on  February  25, 
1822,  Dom  Barber  wrote  to  Dom  Jenkins  in  a  happy  strain 
that  is  almost  infectious.  His  anticipations  about  our  famous 
Regent  cut  omnia  vivunt  were,  as  most  Gregorians  know,  fully 
realised  :  "  We  have,  as  you  may  easily  guess,"  he  writes, 
"  difficult  cards  to  play  in  money  matters.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  '  godsend  '  by  Mr.  Naylor,  the  building  must  have  been  left 
incomplete.  There  is  no  chance  of  the  chapel  being  opened 
before  July,  and  of  this  I  have  my  doubts,  tho'  Goodrich 
assures  me  that  he  will  accomplish  this  job  by  that  time.  .  .  . 
The  upper  Dormitory,  a  capital  room,  is  now  completed; 
the  cells  also,  with  the  exception  of  the  windows,  which  will  be 
in  this  week ;  the  study-room  nearly  ready ;  the  class-rooms 
may  be  soon  so.  The  chapel  is  beautifully  proportioned,  and 
the  solemn  tones  of  the  organ  will  have  full  range  for  its 
delightful  harmony,  and  above  all  the  Regent  cut  07jinia  vivunt 
will  have  an  awful  effect  and  attract  a  crowded  audience.  ..." 
When  the  boys  dispersed  for  the  long  vacation  that  summer 
it  was  with  the  pleasing  knowledge  that  on  reassembling  they 
would  enter  the  new  buildings ;  and,  to  have  everything  in 
readiness,  the  vacation  was  prolonged  for  a  fortnight :  no  very 
great  advantage  from  the  boys'  point  of  view,  for  the  extra 
time  was  made  up  by  depriving  them  of  an  equivalent  number 
of  play-days  during  the  term  !  From  the  very  outset  the 
internal  arrangements  were  criticised  in  a  somewhat  adverse 

184 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

manner,  for  one  correspondent  explained  at  the  time  :  "  The 
architect  seems  to  have  consulted  chiefly  the  exterior  appear- 
ances rather  than  the  interior  conveniences.  The  high  win- 
dows serve  for  two  storeys,  which  must  be  very  awkward  in 
the  inside,  as  the  windows  in  one  floor  must  come  to  the 
ground  " — a  verdict  endorsed  by  all  who  can  recall  the  incon- 
veniences of  "  Paradise  Row." 

The  chapel  alone  now  remained  to  be  completed,  and  on 
this  all  interest  centred  for  the  next  twelve  months.  Mean- 
while, the  block  was  externally  finished  as  we  know  it  to-day ; 
and  the  "  new  college,"  as  it  was  called,  created  quite  a  sen- 
sation beyond  the  immediate  neighbourhood.  A  member  of 
Parliament,  more  zealous  than  accurate,  drew  the  attention 
of  the  House  to  the  alarming  increase  of  Popery  as  exempli- 
fied by  the  fact  that  lately  two  colleges  had  been  opened — one 
at  Stratton-on-the-Fosse,  the  other  at  Downside,  near  Bath ! 
Visitors  constantly  came  to  see  and  admire  the  building; 
among  the  rest,  Mr.  Britton,  the  author  of  Cathedral  Anti- 
quities of  Great  Britain^  declared  it  to  be  the  finest  piece  of 
modern  Gothic  he  had  seen.  Welby  Pugin,  shortly  after  his 
conversion,  paid  it  a  visit,  and  acknowledged  that  the  effect 
of  the  chapel  was  good,  and  that,  considering  the  lamentable 
state  of  Gothic  architecture  in  1820,  it  was  a  most  successful 
effort.  It  is  a  tradition  at  Downside  that  the'  marvellously 
fine  and  deeply-cut  carvings  of  foliage  in  the  tympana  of  the 
buttresses  so  astonished  him  that  he  would  not  be  convinced 
that  they  were  not  modelled  in  plaster  and  inserted,  till,  by 
the  aid  of  a  ladder,  he  had  assured  himself  of  their  genuine- 
ness by  personal  and  minute  inspection.  They  have  with- 
stood all  the  south-western  storms  that  have  beaten  upon 
them,  and  now,  after  eighty  years,  are  as  fresh  and  clear-cut  as 
on  the  day  they  left  the  sculptor's  chisel  and  attracted  the 
notice  of  the  famous  architect. 

A  subscription  was  set  on  foot  for  the  purchase  of  an  organ 

185 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

to  be  placed  in  the  "old"  chapel  for  the  opening  ceremony, 
the  selection  being  left  in  the  capable  hands  of  Count  Maz- 
zinghi  the  elder.  Knowing  that  the  organ  formerly  built  for 
the  Prince  of  Wales  (then  King  George  IV.)  for  the  Pavilion 
at  Brighton  was  on  sale,  he  used  his  influence  as  a  court 
musician  and  managed  to  secure  it.  This  organ,  now  in  the 
abbey  church,  but  of  course  rebuilt  and  containing  additional 
stops,  is,  from  its  history,  an  interesting  instrument. 

A  letter  written  by  Dom  Alexius  Pope,  in  March  1823, 
gives  a  fair  description  of  the  altar  that  for  so  many  years 
stood  in  the  "  old  "  chapel,  before  which  so  many  monks 
have  taken  their  religious  vows,  so  many  have  been  ordained, 
so  many  have  stood  to  offer  the  holy  sacrifice ;  before  which 
so  many  boys  have  made  their  first  communions.  It  now 
stands  in  St.  Peter's  undercroft  in  the  new  abbey  church. 
After  stating  that  there  were  only  twenty  boys  in  the  school, 
he  proceeds  :  "  The  chapel  is  nearly  ready.  We  expect  to  have 
our  own  little  opening  on  St.  Gregory's  among  ourselves  only. 
The  altar  is  already  arrived,  and,  I  think,  one  of  the  finest 
pieces  of  carving  anywhere  to  be  met  with.  Mr.  Baines  said 
he  never  saw  a  more  handsome  one.  I  leave  you  to  guess. 
Four  men  have  been  carving  for  eight  weeks  continually — 
8  feet  in  length,  3  feet  6  inches  in  height ;  the  carvings  are 
quite  through  the  stone  and  lined  inside  with  crimson.  It 
will  be  put  up  to-morrow.  The  chapel,  Mr.  Long  says,  will 
be  entirely  finished  in  six  weeks*  time.  All  the  windows  are 
in  and  they  look  very  handsome  indeed.  All  the  benches 
are  finished  except  the  stalls,  and  we  intend  to  finish  them  at 
our  leisure.  I  daresay  the  grand  opening  will  be  soon  after 
Easter" 

Modern  standards  of  taste  must  adjudicate  on  the  beauty  of 
the  windows  of  the  "  old "  chapel.  The  history  of  stained 
glass  at  Downside  began  with  certain  wondrous  windows  of 
plain  glass  variegated  with  colours,  which  were  brought  from 

186 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

Acton  Burnell  by  the  monks  when  they  moved  to  Downside ; 
for  years  they  were  in  the  room  beneath  the  old  chapel, 
looking  on  to  the  lawn,  now  used  as  a  billiard-room ;  but 
latterly  they  have  disappeared,  being  replaced  by  plain  glass. 
A  similar  style  of  art  prevails  in  most  of  the  windows  in  the 
said  old  chapel,  which  evoked  the  admiration,  not  only  of 
Dom  Alexius  Pope,  but  probably  of  many  others  who  were 
watching  day  by  day  the  finishing  touches  to  their  beautiful 
chapel ;  but  the  crowning  glory  of  that  much-admired  edifice 
was  the  large  southern  window  presented  by  Count  Mazzinghi 
the  elder,  which — such  is  the  mutability  of  fashion  and  taste — 
would  now  only  be  studied  as  a  warning  against  a  style  to  be 
avoided;  in  pattern  it  is  an  intricate,  trying  composition  in 
strong  colours — deep  purple,  brick  red,  and  yellow  ochre. 

The  chapel  was  not  ready  for  use  on  St.  Gregory's  Day  as 
had  been  hoped;  a  few  days  later,  however,  on  March  21,  the 
feast  of  St.  Benedict,  mass  was  sung  in  it,  and  the  offices  of 
the  three  last  days  of  Holy  Week  were  also  celebrated  therein. 
The  date  fixed  for  the  solemn  opening  was  July  10.  On  that 
great  day,  diu  desiderata,  very  beautiful  must  the  "old"  chapel 
have  appeared  after  the  cramped  room  16  feet  square,  in 
the  old  house,  which  had  so  long  served  for  the  celebration 
of  holy  mass  and  the  divine  ofiice.  The  lofty  groined  and 
spandrelled  roof ;  the  altar,  so  highly  valued  as  la  work  of  art ; 
the  tabernacle,  candlesticks,  and  lamp,  all  in  burnished  brass, 
made  by  T.  Whitchurch,  of  Bath,  combined  to  add  to  the 
splendour  of  the  scene.  The  invoice  for  this  brass-work 
exists.  The  massive  lamp  is  not  actually  in  use,  though 
surely  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  abbey  church.  The  "  elegant 
Gothic  tabernacle  in  form  of  octagon,  and  on  each  side  a  highly 
finished  ornament  on  panel "  (in  reality  the  arms  of  St.  Vedast 
at  Arras — a  signally  graceful  and  appropriate  tribute  of  St. 
Gregory's  indebtedness  to  Abbot  Caverel's  fraternal  charity), 
stands  on  its  own  altar  in  the  crypt ;  and  from  the  day  of 

187 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

opening  till  now,  the  "massive  brass  Gothic  candlesticks  in 
form  of  cross,  with  glory  in  centre,"  &c.,  have  done  duty  at  the 
high  altar,  whether  in  the  "  old "  chapel  or  in  the  abbey 
church ;  and  handsome  they  are  to  this  day.  The  total  cost 
of  this  brass-work  was  ^^243,  us.  od. 

The  Catholic  Miscellany  for  July  1823  contains  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  great  ceremony  attending  the  solemn  opening  of 
the  chapel,  but  it  is  certainly  inadequate.  A  more  graphic 
account,  full  of  detail,  was  penned  a  few  days  after  by  Prior 
Barber  for  the  information  of  his  fast  friend,  Dom  Benedict 
Deday,  and  the  Smythe  family  at  Wootton  Hall,  who  were 
naturally  keen  to  hear  all  about  the  stirring  event. 

'*  Downside  College, y/z/j/ 21,  1823. 

"  Dear  Confrere, — At  length  I  sit  down  to  fulfil  my  pro- 
mise of  giving  you  an  account  of  our  opening.  You  will  have 
read,  ere  this,  a  brief  notice  of  it  in  a  Bath  paper.  That 
article  was  penned  by  an  old  acquaintance  of  yours  and  an 
eleve  of  St.  Gregory's — Thomas  Mulligan,  who  is  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  editor  of  the  Bath  Papers.  For  several 
days  preceding  the  opening,  everything  was  bustle,  preparation, 
and  anxiety.  All  this  was  amply  repaid  by  the  singular,  and,  I 
may  say,  unexpected  success  with  which  the  day  went  off.  From 
half-past  nine  in  the  morning  (some  arrived  even  at  seven)  until 
the  time  of  Mass,  eleven  o'clock,  carriages  with  respectable 
company  continued  to  arrive  in  rapid  succession  to  the  number 
of  between  thirty  and  forty — gigs  and  horses  in  abundance. 
Among  the  company  we  had  two  Catholic  Bishops,  Drs. 
Collingridge  and  Baines  two  Catholic  Peers,  Lords  Clifford 
and  Arundell ;  and  all  the  respectability,  both  Catholic  and 
Protestant,  of  the  immediate  vicinity.  Our  good  friend  Sir 
John  Hippisley  was  in  London  at  the  time,  but  he  is  since 
arrived  in  these  parts  and  has  expressed  the  deepest  regret 
that  he  was  not  present.      His   son-in-law,  Colonel   Homer, 

188 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

attended  and  was  highly  deHghted.  At  about  a  half  after 
eleven,  every  necessary  arrangement  and  preparation  was 
made  in  the  Chapel,  and  the  Company  were  admitted.  When 
these  were  arranged  and  properly  settled  the  clerical  proces- 
sion moved  from  the  Sacristy  in  the  following  order,  the  organ 
playing  a  grand  and  solemn  movement.  Six  torch-bearers, 
two  acolythes  carrying  the  mitre  and  crosier,  two  thuriferarii, 
two  acolythes  with  torches,  four  priests,  two  Ceremoniarii, 
Deacon  and  Subdeacon,  Bishop  and  his  assistant  Priest. 
Such  was  the  impression  made  on  the  persons  assembled  in 
the  Chapel,  when  the  Procession  appeared,  such  the  intensity 
of  their  attention,  that  you  might  have  heard  a  pin  drop,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  solemn  tones  of  the  organ.  It  was  impos- 
sible not  to  perceive  the  awful  sensation  that  pervaded  the 
assembly.  The  music  of  the  Mass,  composed  by  Mazzinghi, 
was  most  ably  executed,  and  ravished  the  audience.  The 
Laudamus  and  cum  Saticto  in  the  Gloria,  Et  vitam  venturi  in 
the  Credo,  were  excessively  admired.  But  the  most  eloquent 
individual  had  not  words  to  express  the  charm  and  delight 
which  the  ear  experienced  at  the  Sanctus;  Angels  only  can 
sing  a  more  harmonious  strain.  Had  poor  Piccolomini  heard 
it  a  hair  had  not  remained  on  his  head.  It  was  agreed  on  all 
hands  that  the  Mass  was  most  beautiful  in  itself,  and  very  well 
executed.  Mazzinghi  is  so  satisfied  with  the  success  it  met 
with,  that  he  will  certainly  give  it  to  the  pubHc.  The  only 
thing  that  failed  was  the  sermon  ;  here  I  was,  as  were  all  of 
us,  completely  disappointed.  It  is,  however,  some  consolation 
to  reflect  that  some  of  the  company,  and  Protestants  too,  were 
pleased  with  it.^  The  failure  of  the  sermon,  however,  was 
forgotten  amidst  the  universal  approbation  which  every  other 

^  "  The  Rev.  Dr.  Coombes,  of  Shepton  Mallet,  preached  ;  and  his 
sermon,  by  his  numerous  quotations,  Greek  and  Latin,  gave  evident  proofs 
of  his  being  conversant  with  the  early  Fathers  of  the  Church"  {Catholic 
Miscellany,  July  1823,  vol.  ii.,  No.  19,  p.  326). 

189 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

part  of  the  ceremony  commanded.  The  Protestants  were  in 
a  particular  manner  delighted  with  the  pomp  of  the  cere- 
monies. The  Alleluia  Chorus,  with  which  the  ceremony 
concluded,  had  a  fine  effect,  and  was  allowed  to  be  a  most 
well-chosen  and  admirable  Finale  to  the  sacred  part  of  the 
Festivity.  There  were  from  250  to  300  persons  present, 
independently  of  the  Community  and  visiting  Clergy.  The 
Collection  far  exceeded  our  expectations — ^^75  was  received 
in  the  Chapel  :  add  to  this  what  we  received  from  your  worthy 
patroness.  Lady  Smythe,  and  from  others,  who,  not  being  able 
to  attend,  sent  their  offerings,  it  did  not  amount  to  less 
than  ;z{^i2o. 

"  When  Mass  was  over  the  Company  were  introduced  into 
the  principal  Study-room,  where  a  magnificent  cold  collation 
was  laid  out,  as  all  Ladies  agreed,  in  a  most  handsome  style.^ 
These  fair  visitors  could  not  withhold  the  expression  of 
their  astonishment  that  the  thing  could  have  been  done 
so  well  without  their  aid.  I  should  tell  you,  did  I  not  expect 
Lady  Smythe  to  read  this,  to  admire  their  vanity  and  self- 
sufficiency.  When  I  entered  the  room  where  the  collation 
was  laid  out,  I  suppose  there  were  not  fewer  than  200  persons 
seated  and  enjoying  monastic  hospitality.  The  first  glance 
convinced  me  that  all  were  comfortable  and  at  their  ease : 
pleasure  and  the  highest  satisfaction  beamed  on  every  coun- 
tenance. The  enjoyment  of  every  individual  centred  in  my 
heart — guess,  then,  my  feelings.  As  the  company  separated, 
each  one  repeated  to  me  the  expression  of  their  delight,  and 
confessed  that  they  had  never  seen  a  public  thing  better  con- 
ducted and  never  spent  a  happier  day — u?ia  voce  dicentes. 

"  The  architecture  of  the  College,  but  particularly  the  elegant 
proportions,  the  noble  and  majestic  tout-ense7nble  of  the  Church, 
were  the  admiration  of  connoisseurs,  and  the  delight  of  all. 

^  "  After  the  service  a  proper  cold  collation  was  served  up,  in  one  of 
the  new  Gothic  rooms"  {CatJwlic  Miscellany,  ut  supra). 

190 


THE   MUSEUM 

[Formerly  the  "  Old  Chapel"  0/1822) 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

"  As  soon  as  we  were  free  from  most  of  our  secular  friends, 
which  was  not  much  before  six  o'clock,  the  remainder  of  the 
company,  consisting  chiefly  of  Priests  and  persons  formerly 
brought  up  in  the  College,  sat  down  to  dinner  with  the  com- 
munity ;  sixty  composed  the  number  of  persons  who  sat  down. 
The  enjoyment  here  seemed  to  exceed,  if  possible,  that  of  the 
Company  who  had  departed.  At  nine  o'clock,  I  left  the  com- 
pany and  retired  to  my  room,  to  repose  myself  after  the  fatigues 
of  the  day.  Thus  terminated  a  day  which  had  been  the  subject 
of  many  an  uneasy  and  anxious  thought,  but  at  this  moment  a 
day  of  sweet  satisfaction  and  unexpected  content. 

*'  On  Friday  the  festival  of  our  Holy  Father,  Mr.  Lawson 
sung  High  Mass  en  grande  ceremonie.  At  it  were  present  all 
the  company  who  had  dined  with  the  Community  on  the  pre- 
ceding day.  Dr.  Baines  preached  a  most  beautiful  sermon 
from  the  gospel  of  the  Festival.  His  was  a  more  successful 
effort  than  a  similar  one  of  the  preceding  day. 

"Vespers  also  were  sung  on  this  day  in  a  solemn  and  im- 
posing manner;  but  the  satisfaction  arising  from  them  was 
considerably  diminished  by  the  recollection  that  it  would  be 
the  last  time  that  they  would  be  so  well  performed  for  a  long 
period.  Mr.  Pope  was  to  quit  us  in  the  evening.  The  fes- 
tivities were  kept  up  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  during  the 
octave  of  St.  Benedict.  On  the  octave  day  we  had  an  organist 
from  Wells,  and  High  Mass  was  sung  again  by  Mr.  Lawson 
en  ceremonie.  This  was  the  day  on  which  the  Religious  were 
regaled  by  your  handsome  treat.  After  dinner  your  health 
and  many  thanks  for  your  generosity  was  most  cordially 
received  by  all  your  confreres.  They  beg  me  to  convey  their 
gratitude  to  you,  and  their  good  wishes  for  your  health  and 
happiness,  in  the  strongest  terms  that  the  English  language 
affords.  Our  gaiety  was  only  finally  and  completely  termi- 
nated by  the  departure  of  Messrs.  Lawson  and  Harrison. 
They  spend  this  day  in  Bath,  whither  I  forward  this  hurried 

191 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

letter  this  evening.  I  am  ashamed  to  say  it  is  hurried,  but 
it  has  been  impossible  before  to-day  to  have  anything  like 
a  moment  to  write.  ...  I  must  have,  though  unintentionally, 
omitted  many  particulars  which  as  a  confrere  you  might  wish 
to  know ;  but  all  this  will  be  well  supplied  by  our  confreres^ 
Messrs.  Lawson  and  Pope,  who  were  present.  The  former 
agrees  that  ours  is  the  prettiest  Chapel  he  has  ever  seen.  You 
will  see  by  the  London  papers  of  Saturday  that  Lord  Colchester 
in  the  House  of  Lords  accuses  us  of  purchasing  some  converts 
and  making  others.  He  dignifies  us,  as  reported  in  the  Courier, 
as  a  large  and  splendid  establishment.  It  is  clear  that  we  must 
not  make  too  much  noise.  ..." 

For  a  full  appreciation  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  above 
delightfully  naive  description,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  "new  Gothic  room"  in  which  the  "proper  cold  collation" 
was  served  up  to  this  numerous  company  of  200  persons  is  the 
present  Petre  Library,  with  the  ceiling  at  that  time  from  eight 
to  nine  feet  lower.  Our  ancestors  were  easy  to  satisfy  and 
please;  for,  unconscious  of  modern  hygienic  demands,  they 
were  able  to  feel  "comfortable  and  at  their  ease,"  and  truth- 
fully to  express  "pleasure  and  the  highest  satisfaction"  under 
such  crowded  and  stuffy  conditions. 

From  Sir  John  Lambert's  reminiscences  it  may  be  gathered 
that  for  the  benefit  of  the  boys,  a  tent  was  erected  on  the  lawn, 
where,  as  he  records,  "  an  excellent  luncheon,  which  could  not 
fail  to  commend  itself  to  boys'  tastes,"  was  served. 

A  domestic  matter  of  passing  interest  may  be  recalled  in 
connection  with  this  event.  Roman  collars  and  clerical  dress 
were  unknown  during  the  whole  period  preceding  the  opening 
of  the  "  old  "  chapel.  Persecution,  or  at  least  the  fear  of  it, 
had  not  entirely  passed  away ;  and,  consequently,  a  dress  was 
adopted  by  the  monks  of  St.  Gregory's  which  might  so  far  dis- 
guise their  monastic  character  as  to  secure  for  them  the  means 
and  power  of  living  their  lives  and  of  doing  good  unmolested  ; 

192 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

for  it  must  be  remembered  that  by  law  they  were  still  pro- 
scribed. Hence  a  distinctive  dress  had  hitherto  been  studi- 
ously avoided.  But  for  the  opening  of  the  chapel  a  sort  of 
college  gown  was  introduced,  together  with  a  heavy,  ill-made 
trencher  cap,  which  required  to  be  held  on  the  head  in  any 
lively  movement  of  the  body  or  in  a  strong  wind ;  a  skein  of 
worsted  formed  the  tassel.  The  cap  soon  fell  out  of  use,  but 
the  gown  was  worn  in  choir  and  within  the  enclosure  as  a 
compromise  for  the  monastic  habit.  It  was  considered  a  great 
advance  at  the  time,  and  caused  much  talk  and  sensation  in 
the  neighbourhood.  Cassocks,  too,  in  those  early  days  were 
unknown,  except  on  Sundays  for  two  acolythes  and  the  thurifer. 
The  gown  continued  in  use  as  the  special  dress  of  the  com- 
munity till  1848.  The  shape  of  this  old  college  gown  may  be 
seen  in  the  portrait  of  Dr.  Brown  in  the  boys'  dining-hall ; 
and  a  photograph  of  "  old  George  Mazzinghi "  (Count 
Mazzinghi  the  younger)  in  one  of  the  Gregorian  albums 
shews  him  habited  in  the  gown,  which  he  continued  to  wear 
till  his  death  in  1864.  The  monastic  habit  was  first  worn  by 
the  monks  at  Downside  in  November  1848,  and  to  this  was 
added  the  cowl  in  choir  a  year  later. 

The  increased  accommodation  afforded  by  the  new  build- 
ings gave  immediate  relief  to  the  community.  At  last  they 
were  in  possession  of  a  suitable  choir  wherein  to  perform  the 
Divine  Office,  a  sanctuary  sufficiently  spacious  to  allow  of 
their  carrying  out  ceremonies  in  an  orderly  manner,  and, 
above  all,  they  had  provided  a  home  worthy  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  The  old  Manor  House  now  became  exclusively 
the  monastery ;  and  freed  from  the  presence  of  the  boys,  the 
monks  were  enabled  to  carry  out  more  effectually  the  obser- 
vances of  their  state,  such  as  silence  and  study,  without  the 
constant  interruption  and  disturbance  caused  by  the  move- 
ments of  the  boys.  This  freedom  and  peace  spurred  them  to 
renewed  efforts  to  make  the  education  worthy  of  the  school, 

193  N 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

and  to  prepare  themselves  to  face  the  heavier  responsibilities 
that  expansion  would  bring  in  its  train. 

The  only  serious  difficulty  that  had  hitherto  presented  itself 
to  the  community  had  arisen  from  the  vexed  question  of  the 
choice  of  the  most  suitable  site  for  the  lasting  settlement  of 
St.  Gregory's.  No  sooner,  however,  had  all  such  doubts  been 
dissipated  by  the  erection  and  occupation  of  the  new  buildings, 
than  St.  Gregory's  was  forthwith  plunged  into  a  formidable 
struggle  for  its  existence,  and,  indeed,  for  its  very  right  to 
exist.  Dr.  Baines,  the  Vicar-Apostolic  of  the  Western  Dis- 
trict, held,  and  held  strongly,  certain  views,  which,  as  the 
course  of  events  shews,  ran  counter  to  those  upheld  at  St. 
Gregory's,  and  which  were  there  considered  to  imperil  the 
essential  principles  of  the  monastic  state.  As  it  also  happened, 
the  bishop's  views  clashed  with  the  interests  of  Downside 
school.  It  may  be  at  once  said  that  in  the  end  the  highest 
authority,  that  of  the  Holy  See,  decided  against  the  bishop  on 
all  the  points  in  controversy.  Since  Dr.  Baines  was  brought 
into  direct  antagonism  with  Downside  during  several  years, 
a  few  words  about  his  career  may  be  of  interest. 

Peter  Baines  was  born  on  January  25,  1787,  at  Kirby,  near 
Liverpool,  and  at  the  age  of  eleven  years  was  sent  to  the  Abbey  of 
Lambspring,  near  Hildesheim,  to  study  for  the  priesthood.  Here 
he  remained  till  the  suppression  and  annexation  of  the  house 
by  the  Prussian  Government,  in  1801,  when  he  returned  home. 
After  a  short  period,  he  went  to  St.  Lawrence's  Monastery, 
lately  settled  at  Amplefortli,  near  York.  When  he  had  com- 
pleted his  studies,  he  was  admitted  into  the  English  Benedic- 
tine congregation,  taking  in  religion  the  name  of  Augustine. 
He  soon  gave  signs  of  the  brilliancy  of  his  mental  gifts  and 
of  the  energy  of  his  character.  He  fulfilled  the  duties  of  a 
master,  and  finally  directed  the  studies  in  the  school  at 
Ampleforth  until  181 7,  when  he  was  appointed  to  the  im- 
dortant  mission   of   Bath.      His   reputation    as   an   architect 

194 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

and  as  a  man  of  taste  brought  him  into  close  relations  with 
the  superiors  of  St.  Gregory's  immediately  after  their  acqui- 
sition of  the  Downside  property ;  these  relations  became,  at  the 
president's  request  or  command,  still  more  intimate  after  his 
transfer  to  Bath.  When  Dom  Bernard  Barber  became  Prior 
of  Downside  in  181 8,  and  bent  all  his  energies  to  the  erection 
of  a  suitable  school,  he  found  himself  hampered  by  the 
schemes  floating  in  the  brain  of  his  restless  neighbour ;  and, 
as  may  be  gathered  from  existing  correspondence,  he  strongly 
resented  what  he  looked  upon  as  officious  interference  and 
unsoHcited  advice. 

Meanwhile,  Bishop  Collingridge,  whose  health  was  failing, 
found  a  coadjutor  necessary  to  share  his  labours  and  lighten 
his  burthens  in  the  management  of  the  Western  District. 
As  he,  a  Franciscan,  had  been  selected  by  the  Benedic- 
tine, Bishop  Gregory  Sharrock,  as  coadjutor,  so,  in  his  turn 
looking  to  the  Benedictines  for  support  in  his  old  age  and 
dechning  powers,  he  selected  Fr.  Baines.  His  choice  was 
approved  and  confirmed  by  the  Holy  See  early  in  1823; 
whereupon  Fr.  Baines  received  episcopal  consecration,  and 
was  preconised  to  the  Church  of  Siga  in  partibus  infidelium. 

Dr.  Marsh,  then  president  of  the  English  Benedictines,  had 
been  Dr.  Baines's  master  when  the  future  bishop  was  a  boy  at 
Ampleforth,  and  his  prior  when  a  monk.  In  these  two  capacities 
he  had  had  ample  opportunity  during  several  consecutive  years 
of  gaining  an  insight  into  his  character :  it  must  be  allowed 
that  after-events  proved  the  correctness  of  the  estimate  he 
had  formed  of  it.  When  he  heard  of  his  former  subject's 
elevation  to  the  episcopate,  he  thus  expressed  himself  to  a 
correspondent  concerning  the  appointment :  "  If  Mr.  Baines 
is  to  exercise  a  considerable  share  of  the  administration  [during 
Dr.  Colli ngridge's  lifetime],  I  think  prudence  and  moderation 
should  be  recommended.  He  has  excellent  views,  but  I 
sometimes  fear  the  means  he  may  wish  to  employ  to  compass 

195 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

his  views  may  not  be  calculated  to  produce  the  wished-for 
effect.  It  is  thought  he  will  try  to  carry  things  with  too  high 
a  hand,  which  may  produce  resistance,  where  with  a  little 
more  mildness  and  temper  all  might  be  done  agreeably." 

As  coadjutor,  Dr.  Baines  assisted  Dr.  Collingridge  at  the 
ceremony  of  opening  the  chapel  at  Dow^nside,  and  preached 
an  eloquent  sermon  on  the  second  day  of  the  festivities.  The 
new  bishop  was  not  long  in  discovering  a  weak  point  in  the 
economy  of  the  district  in  whose  administration  he  had  been 
summoned  to  assist — the  absence  of  a  seminary  whereby 
its  subjects  might  be  supplied.  He  bethought  him  of  an 
easy  way  to  remedy  the  want  if  he  could  find  willing  co- 
operators.  Accordingly,  six  weeks  after  the  opening  of  the 
Downside  chapel,  he  wrote  to  the  Prior  of  St.  Gregory's,  on 
August  27,  1823,  and  asked  him:  '"Would  you  be  willing 
that  the  house  of  St.  Gregory's  should  be  made  over  to  myself 
and  successors,  the  Bishops  of  the  Western  District  (being 
regulars),  as  an  episcopal  seminary  for  the  same,  on  the 
understanding  that  the  Bishop  for  the  time  being  shall  be 
allowed  to  exercise  the  same  powers  over  its  members  within 
his  own  district  which  are  usually  exercised  by  the  President 
and  Provincial?"  The  council  at  Downside  unanimously 
declined  to  entertain  the  proposition,  for  to  do  so  would  have 
virtually  amounted  to  renouncing  allegiance  to  the  Benedictine 
body,  as  a  concurrent  jurisdiction  of  monastic  and  episcopal 
superiors  would  have  been  impossible.  This  refusal  did  not 
deter  Dr.  Baines  from  making  a  further  proposal  a  month 
later,  that  the  Gregorians  should  exchange  their  monastery, 
school,  and  lands  at  Downside  for  the  monastery,  school, 
and  lands  of  St.  Lawrence's  at  Ampleforth.  As  the  mem- 
bers of  St.  Gregory's  had  but  recently  declined  to  return 
to  their  old  home  at  Douay,  had  spent  over  ^7000  on  the 
purchase  of  the  Downside  estate,  and  nearly  another  ;^7ooo 
on  the  new  buildings,  and  as  the  enthusiasm  attending  their 

196 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

auspicious  opening  had  not  even  had  time  to  subside,  the 
council  not  unnaturally  returned  a  firm  and  decisive  refusal, 
not  even  inquiring  whether  the  bishop  had  obtained  the  consent 
of  the  members  of  St.  Lawrence's  to  treat  for  such  an  exchange. 
It  does  not  transpire  whether  they  had  ever  been  approached 
on  the  subject. 

Downside's  refusal  entailed  Dr.  Baines's  displeasure,  but 
nothing  further  occurred  for  the  moment.  In  the  autumn  of 
1825,  however,  President  Marsh,  then  at  Douay,  wrote  to 
Prior  Barber,  intimating  that  Dr.  Baines's  schemes,  though 
apparently  dormant,  were  not  really  so.  "I  have  great  reason 
to  believe,"  he  said,  "that  .  .  .  [Fr.  Cuthbert  Wilks]  is 
neither  a  friend  of  the  existence  of  the  house  here  [Douay], 
nor  of  the  independence  of  yours.  I  believe  you  will  generally 
find  these  two  go  together,  at  least  with  those  who  act  syste- 
matically, and  I  believe  both  originate  and  are  yet  pursued  by 
a  distinguished  character  in  your  neighbourhood.  If  we  wish 
for  any  peace  in  our  body  we  must  endeavour  to  keep  our 
affairs  to  ourselves,  and  to  be  distinct  from  the  administration 
of  the  Western  District.  This  I  was  told  by  Lord  Clifford 
when  he  requested  me  to  take  his  son  to  Douay,  contrary  to 
the  wish  of  Dr.  Baines." 

Still  entertaining  the  hope  of  realising  his  plans.  Dr.  Baines, 
in  the  summer  of  1826,  made  certain  proposals  to  the  fathers 
assembled  in  general  chapter  at  Downside,  which,  if  acceded 
to,  would  have  completely  changed  the  nature  of  the 
English  congregation.  A  diplomatic  but  firm  refusal  was 
the  inevitable  result,  whereupon  the  bishop  openly  broke  with 
his  former  brethren,  returning  a  curt  and  rude  reply  in  acknow- 
ledgment of  their  communication ;  and  a  month  later,  on 
receiving  a  customary  half-yearly  contribution  of  ;^i2,  los.  od. 
from  the  South  Province,  he  returned  the  bank  draft,  re- 
marking, "  I  do  not  wish  henceforth  to  receive  any  contribu- 
tion from  that  body."     Shortly  after  he  went  to  Rome,  and 

197 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

remained  during  the  years  1827  and  1828.  During  this 
period  the  indignation  aroused  at  Downside  by  the  pro- 
jected seminary  scheme  had  gradually  subsided,  for  its  apparent 
abandonment  had  lulled  the  minds  of  most  of  the  fathers 
into  a  sense  of  security ;  their  hands,  too,  were  fully  occupied, 
for  by  the  end  of  February  1827  the  boys  in  the  school 
had  increased,  partly  by  dint  of  hard  work,  partly  by  the 
attraction  of  the  new  buildings,  to  the  number  of  fifty-five. 
While  the  suspicions  of  others  might  have  been  set  at  rest, 
those  entertained  by  Prior  Barber  remained  as  keen  and  vigilant 
as  ever.  He  took  alarm  at  the  suggested  withdrawal  of  Dom 
Joseph  Brown  from  Downside  for  the  purpose  of  setting  him 
to  work  in  the  missionary  field,  wisely  pointing  out  that  it  was 
"  of  the  highest  importance  to  its  [the  school's]  reputation 
that  it  have  professors  of  some  standing  to  ensure  to  us  the 
confidence  of  our  friends."  He  had  been  ruminating,  too, 
upon  Dr.  Baines's  schemes  for  a  diocesan  seminary,  and  as 
these  shaped  themselves  in  his  mind  and  he  more  clearly  per- 
ceived their  incidence  on  the  fortunes  of  St.  Gregory's ;  he 
further  impressed  upon  Dom  Deday,  the  provincial  of  the 
Canterbury  province :  "  Do  not  forget  either  that  we  have 
a  powerful  and  persevering  enemy  to  contend  against  in  the 
person  of  the  Bishop  of  Siga,  and  how  necessary  it  is  in  con- 
sequence that  the  Prior  of  St.  Gregory's  be  surrounded  by 
effective  men."  Pleading,  therefore,  for  the  retention  of 
DD.  Polding  and  Brown  at  Downside  as  subprior  and  prefect 
respectively,  he  proceeds :  "  It  may  never  occur  again  that 
the  Prior  of  St.  Gregory's  may  possess  two  such  eminent  men, 
and  at  the  same  time  so  united  in  views  with  their  superior, 
and  so  satisfied  to  give  their  services  to  the  College." 

His  prescience  and  sagacity  were  not  at  fault.  Dr. 
Collingridge  died  on  March  3,  1829  ;  and  Dr.  Baines,  on  suc- 
ceeding to  the  vicariate,  rapidly  developed  his  attack  upon 
Downside,  for  which,  as  it  transpired,  he   had   been  quietly 

198 


DOWNSIDE,   1814-1830 

preparing  during  his  prolonged  sojourn  in  the   Eternal  City. 
The   accidental   presence  in  Rome  of  Dom  Cuthbert  Spain 
(a  Gregorian),  on  business  connected  with  the  Mauritius,  was 
the  means  of  discovering  the  mine  which  had  been  laid.     He 
heard    casually    in    conversation    with    Dr.    Wiseman,    then 
rector  of  the  English  college,  of  the  plans  Dr.  Baines  enter- 
tained in  reference  to  the  Benedictines  in  England.     He  at 
once  interviewed  Cardinal  Cappellari,   prefect   of  the   Propa- 
ganda (afterwards  Gregory  XVI.),  and  from  him  learnt  definitely 
that  Dr.  Baines  had  been  negotiating  about  the  erection  of  a 
diocesan  seminary,  and  had  insinuated  that  the  Benedictines 
were  not  the  help  to  his  vicariate  that  he  had  a  right  to  expect ; 
that  having,  in  fact,  no  real  canonical  tenure  they  were  remov- 
able ;  and  that  as  Downside  already  existed  as  a  firmly  estab- 
lished school  and  was  admirably  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  a 
seminary,  it  should  be  utilised  in  that  way  and  come  under 
his  control.     Fr.   Spain  at  once  communicated  these  alarm- 
ing tidings    to   superiors   at   home,  who  up  to  that  moment 
had  had  no  inkling  of  the  proceedings.      An  answer  to  the 
Bishop's  allegations  was  speedily  drawn  up,  signed  by  all  the 
Downside  community,  and  despatched  to  Cardinal  Cappellari 
before  the  end  of  June.     To  Dr.  Baines's  application  for  leave 
to   take  possession  of  Downside  the  prefect  of  Propaganda 
demurred,  naturally  declining  to  act  till  he  should  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  hearing  what    the  other  side  had  to  say. 
In  the  late  summer  of  1829  the   cardinal  addressed  a  letter 
to  Downside,  "not  as  a  prefect  of  the  sacred  congregation," 
as  he  expressed  it,   "but  as  our  friend,  and  devoted   to  our 
order,"  and  therein  he  categorically  stated  the  bishop's  pro- 
posals or  views  regarding  Downside  school.     Dr.  Baines  had 
represented  at  Rome  that  Downside,  as  a  flourishing  secular 
school,   stood    in    the  way  of  his  erecting  a  similar  one  for 
himself ;  and  since  it  diminished  his  prospect  of  securing  lay 
students,  it  must  be  reduced  to  such  limits  as  not  to  interfere 

199 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

Avith  the  school  and  seminary  he  was  projecting.  Prior 
Barber,  in  commenting  on  this  proposal,  pointed  out  that  it 
appeared  to  throw  a  significant  light  upon  advice  tendered 
by  ])r.  Baines  six  years  previously.  At  that  time  he  sug- 
gested the  advisability  of  turning  the  upper  dormitory  intO' 
a  library,  and  remarked,  "  we  might  rest  assured  that  we 
should  never  have  sufficient  boys  to  fill  both  dormitories." 

Other  questions  raised  by  Dr.  Baines  concerning  the 
canonical  status  of  Downside  as  a  monastery  do  not  enter 
into  the  scope  of  this  history,  but  they  turned  the  contest 
into  a  fight  for  very  life,  and  it  was  quite  understood  to  be 
so  by  the  monks  at  1  )ownside.  I  )orn  Joseph  Brown  wrote  : 
"  For  my  part  I  am  for  fighting  to  the  last,  and  then  for 
leaving  the  kingdom,  if  we  cannot  remain  in  it."  Several 
others  used  similar  language. 

Dr.  Baines  returned  in  September,  and,  on  the  day  of  his 
arrival,  wrote  proposing  an  interview,  which  was  arranged  ta 
take  place  at  his  house  at  Bathampton  on  October  i. 
Prior  Barber  was  accompanied  at  this  memorable  and 
momentous  meeting  by  Dom  Joseph  Brown,  who  wrote  an 
account  of  it  two  days  later,  from  which  the  following  pas- 
sages will  relate  as  much  as  concerned  the  fate  of  the 
school :  "  Our  reception  was  no  kinder  than  it  could  be  to 
persons  calling  by  appointment ;  and  after  a  few  minutes' 
indifferent  conversation  we  entered  on  business.  We  had 
prearranged  to  make  it  our  object  to  ascertain  as  clearly  as 
possible  his  plans.  .  .  .  Without  a  blush  he  gave  us  the 
following.  .  .  .  He  has  no  objection  to  our  quitting  the 
district.  If  we  are  willing  to  become  his  seminary,  over 
which  he  is  to  exercise  the  usual  control  which  other  bishops 
do,  we  shall  remain  unmolested  and  receive  all  his  support. 
If  we  do  not  choose  to  submit  to  such  terms,  the  least  he 
requires  is,  first,  that  we  give  up  the  lay  school,  or  confine 
it  within  such  limits  as  he  shall  hereafter    nominate,  paying 

200 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

him  also  a  quota  annually,  &c.,  &c.  .  .  .  Having  learnt 
his  plans,  we  raised  objections.  ...  In  our  objections,  I 
told  him  that  when  the  worst  should  come  to  the  worst,  we 
could  but  be  what  his  plans  wished  to  make  us.  .  .  ." 

A  study  of  the  canon  law  bearing  on  the  questions 
in  dispute  was  now  undertaken  by  Prior  Barber  and  Dom 
Brown,  and  resulted  in  the  reassuring  discovery  that  Down- 
side's position  in  point  of  fact  was  unassailable ;  and  they 
determined  to  carry  their  grievances  to  Rome  for  settlement. 
Dr.  Marsh,  late  president,  was  selected  to  represent  the 
Downside  case,  and  he  was  accompanied  by  Dom  Brown. 
The  story  of  how  victory  was  won  belongs  rather  to  the 
history  of  the  monastery  than  to  that  of  the  school ;  but 
during  the  absence  of  the  delegates,  and  while  the  dispute 
was  sub  lite,  the  bishop  did  not  pause  in  demanding  of 
the  Downside  monks  the  surrender  of  their  attitude  of  non 
possumus.  He  refused  to  recognise  their  ecclesiastical  status 
in  his  vicariate,  and  on  November  7  he  replied  as  follows 
to  a  further  communication  from  Prior  Barber,  who  had 
notified  that  Downside  could  not  accede  to  the  conditions 
which  he  had  again  lately  formulated  for  their  acceptance : 
"  Your  positive  and  uncourteous  refusal  to  inform  me  of  the 
grounds  upon  which  you  claim  your  exemption  from  my 
jurisdiction  has  given  me  great  pain,  inasmuch  as  it  compels 
me  to  deviate  from  that  line  of  kindness  and  conciliation 
which  I  have  hitherto  pursued,  and  convinces  me  that  further 
forbearance  in  the  assertion  of  my  authority  would  be  an 
abandonment  of  my  duty.  I  distinctly  stated  to  you  that 
in  the  event  of  your  not  acquiescing  in  the  conditions  pre- 
scribed by  Cardinal  Cappellari  I  could  not  possibly  acknow- 
ledge your  house  as  an  exempt  monastery  unless  you  should 
produce  some  valid  authority  from  the  Holy  See  for  its  estab- 
lishment. Your  rejection  of  the  conditions  of  that  letter  and 
positive  refusal  to  furnish  me  with  that  authority  leave  me  no 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

alternative.  As,  however,  I  wish  to  allow  you  an  opportunity 
of  altering  your  determination,  I  shall  at  present  satisfy  myself 
with  withdrawing  from  every  priest  residing  in  your  house 
whatever  faculties  any  of  you  hold  from  the  Vicars- Apostolic 
of  this  District,  and  by  declaring  that  no  priest  whatever  has 
power  to  exercise  such  faculties  within  the  limits  of  your 
asserted  jurisdiction.  All  such  faculties  cease  ipso  facto  on  the 
evening  of  the  day  on  which  you  shall  receive  this  letter." 
The  prior,  in  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  this  ultimatum, 
wrote  :  "  No  doubt,  my  Lord,  you  act  under  the  influence 
of  conscientious  motives  in  asserting  your  authority  in  this 
matter ;  my  motives  in  refusing  to  receive  that  authority  are 
not  less  pure.  ...  I  have  referred  my  cause  to  the  Holy 
See.  Its  decision  I  await  with  perfect  tranquillity.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  say  that  we  shall  not  presume  to  exercise 
the  faculties  which,  as  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the  Western  District, 
you  have  withdrawn." 

Dr.  Baines  altogether  overreached  himself  and  defeated  the 
purpose  he  had  in  view  in  thus  withdrawing  the  faculties 
from  the  priests  at  Downside,  for  a  few  days  later  the  prior 
wrote  thus  to  Dom  Deday :  "  As  the  Bp.  cannot  suspend  all 
at  once,  and  as  no  one  is  specified  by  name,  the  legitimate  conclu- 
sion is,  I  presume,  that  none  of  us  are  suspended.  We  shall 
not  avail  ourselves  of  this  discovery  except  to  show  up  Siganus 
at  Rome,  and  this  I  have  already  done.  I  have  the  undoubted 
authority  of  a  Priest,  to  whom  Dr.  B.  made  it  a  boast  that  he 
had  taken  away  our  faculties,  for  knowing  that  it  was  not  my 
uncourteous  refusal  to  give  my  canonical  authorities  that  caused 
the  suspension.  It  was  my  saying  that  I  would  not  hold  my- 
self responsible  for  the  inferences  which  Brethren  drew  from 
their  knowledge  of  what  was  passing  here.  .  .  .  The  priest 
alluded  to  gave  his  opinion  of  the  transaction  most  freely  to 
Dr.  B.,  and  told  him  that  it  was  not  only  an  imprudent  and 
hasty  step,  but  also  one  which  would  sink  him  in  the  estima- 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

tion  of  every  Catholic :  that  we  were  well  known  to  be  exem- 
plary ecclesiastics  by  all,  both  high  and  low,  and  that  what  his 
Lp.  had  done  would  disgrace  him  in  the  eyes,  not  only  of  the 
District,  but  of  all  who  would  hear  of  his  proceedings.  The 
bishop  cried  like  a  child  when  he  found  the  predicament  he 
had  involved  himself  in.  From  this  same  person  we  have 
learned  that  Dr.  B.  supposed  ignorantly  that  his  suspension 
would  deprive  us  of  the  power  of  hearing  the  students'  con- 
fessions. Hence  the  blow  was  aimed  at  that  point :  how 
completely  it  fails  of  the  mark  is  obvious.  Hinc  iilcB 
lachrymce.  .  .  ." 

The  bishop's  ill-judged  action  tended  to  alienate  sympathy 
from  him,  even  amongst  his  fellow  vicars-apostolic,  and  pro- 
portionately encouraged  the  Downside  monks  in  their  passive 
resistance  and  helped  to  raise  their  spirits.  The  suspension 
brought  little  inconvenience  to  them  ;  for  although  the  bishop 
had  intended  this  extreme  measure  to  affect  their  relations 
with  the  boys,  he  was  in  error ;  for  the  faculties  enjoyed  by  the 
inmates  of  an  exempt  house  are  granted  by  the  superiors  of 
the  order,  and  not  by  the  bishops.  This  is  what  the  cure 
of  St.  Albin  at  Douay  had  to  his  chagrin  found  out  a 
century  before.  Dr.  Baines's  hostile  act  being  thus  ultra 
vires,  affected  only  the  small  congregation  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  put  a  burthen  on  the  priest  who  had  to  come  from 
a  distance  to  hear  their  confessions.  The  injustice  of  the 
measure  was  recognised  on  all  hands,  for  such  a  withdrawal  of 
faculties  is  usually  reserved  for  cases  of  serious  delinquency  : 
and  such  not  even  the  bishop  dreamt  of  laying  to  the  charge 
of  the  Downside  fathers.  It  may  here  be  mentioned  that 
when  the  news  of  this  suspension  reached  Rome,  the  bishop 
was  reprimanded  and  peremptorily  ordered  to  rescind  it. 

Meanwhile,  unable  to  prevail  against  the  inflexible  front 
opposed  to  him  at  Downside,  Dr.  Baines  determined  not  to 
wait  for  the  decision  of  the  Roman  courts,  and  purchased  the 

203 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

estate  of  Prior  Park,  with  Ralpii  Allen's  fine  house,  situated  on 
an  eminence  overlooking  the  city  of  Bath,  whither  some  years 
before  he  had  strongly  urged  the  transference  of  St.  Gregory's. 
Here,  in  the  exercise  of  his  undoubted  right,  he  prepared  to 
open  his  seminary  and  lay  school,  thereby  shewing  that  he 
had  abandoned  the  hope  of  appropriating  St.  Gregory's.  In 
order  to  secure  the  necessary  working  staff  for  it,  he  had 
recourse  to  Ampleforth,  and  persuaded  four  of  its  leading 
members  to  accompany  him  to  Prior  Park.  This  defection 
proved  for  a  period  a  paralysing  blow  to  Ampleforth,  which  was 
saved  only  by  the  strenuous  efforts  of  the  remaining  Laurentian 
fathers,  aided  by  the  temporary  loan  of  two  young  monks 
sent  from  Downside.  They  were  Brs.  Bernard  Ullathorne  and 
Placid  Sinnott.  Nor  did  Downside  escape  scatheless.  The 
new  school  commenced  its  career  brilliantly ;  and  so  rapidly 
did  it  fill  after  its  opening  in  July  1830  that  for  a  time  it  gave 
a  serious  check  to  I3ownside,  where  the  numbers  at  once  fell 
off  appreciably,  especially  amongst  the  Irish  boys,  whose 
parents  were  attracted,  as  was  specifically  stated  at  the  time, 
by  the  glamour  of  a  school  presided  over  by  a  bishop.  A 
few  years  of  dogged  and  determined  struggle  against  these 
adverse  circumstances  terminated  this  partial  and  temporary 
eclipse  in  the  fortunes  of  St.  Gregory's ;  and  the  rivalry  be- 
tween Downside  and  Prior  Park,  in  its  varying  fortunes,  has 
since  been  of  a  friendly  nature. 

During  the  progress  of  these  events  in  England,  Rome  was 
weighing  the  merits  of  the  two  aspects  of  the  case  submitted 
for  the  decision  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts ;  and  on  March  i, 
1830,  the  congregation  entrusted  with  the  settlement  passed  a 
resolution  granting  a  sanaiio  for  the  past  (if  such  were  needed) 
covering  any  defects  that  might  have  occurred  in  the  canonical 
erection  of  St.  Gregory's  Monastery.  The  Pope  signed  the 
formal  document  on  March  7,  thus  ending  the  dispute  in 
favour  of  St.  Gregory's. 

204 


DOWNSIDE,    1814-1830 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  record  here  a  signal  proof  of  the  entire 
reconciliation  which  took  place  between  the  parties  to  the  dis- 
pute. The  evening  before  Dr.  Baines's  death  (which  occurred 
suddenly  on  July  6,  1843),  he  had  seen  some  of  the  Down- 
side fathers,  and  had  expressed  to  them  his  complete  friend- 
ship. He  was  buried  in  the  cloisters  at  Prior  Park ;  but  when 
that  estate  was  sold,  the  body  was  removed  to  Downside, 
where  it  has  since  lain  surrounded  by  many  of  the  monks 
with  whom  he  had  once  been  in  conflict.     Requiescat  in  pace  I 

A  memorial  of  this  well-nigh  forgotten  dispute  is  enshrined 
in  the  name  of  a  portion  of  the  Downside  property.  A  field 
now  called  "  Bainsbury "  was  formerly  known  by  several 
different  names :  Wansborough,  Hansborough^  and  Woods- 
borough  occur  in  different  deeds  relating  to  it.  The  present 
name  was  conferred  upon  it  some  time  about  1830,  when  Dr. 
Baines  was  so  confident  of  getting  possession  of  Downside 
that  he  had  actually  selected  this  high  ground,  with  its  ex- 
tended view  towards  the  north-east,  as  the  site  of  his  future 
school  and  seminary.  So  the  story  goes ;  and  that  the  pre- 
sent name  commemorates  the  attempt — and  its  failure. 


'05 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S   DURING  THE 
NINETEENTH    CENTURY 

Increase  of  boys — Opening  of  Prior  Park  temporarily  damages  prosperity 
— Old  prospectus — Energy  in  studies  —  Horarium  —  Dietary — Exhi- 
bition programme — Sodality  re-established — Downside  Discussion — 
Prior  Wilson's  term  of  office— Affiliation  to  London  University — 
Again  need  of  increased  accommodation — Pugin's  plans — Hansom's 
plans — Laying  of  foundation-stones — Description  of  new  buildings — 
1864  Jubilee— Observatory — Further  additions  to  the  school— Cere- 
mony of  laying  foundation-stones — Description  of  the  additions-- 
Lord  Petre — Old  chapel  abandoned  for  the  new  church — Later  events 
— Queen's  Jubilee. 

Throughout  the  contest  described  in  the  last  chapter,  the 
school  was  enjoying  its  unwonted  elbow-room,  partially  un- 
conscious of  the  turmoil  and  anxiety  in  the  breasts  of  its 
masters,  the  cause  of  which  was  kept,  as  far  as  possible,  from 
the  knowledge  of  the  boys. 

The  whole  of  the  new  building  was  not  occupied  at  once ; 
the  play-room  was  not  finished,  and  one  dormitory  was  not 
fitted  up  for  a  year  or  more ;  nor  had  the  brew-house  (the 
present  bath  and  music-rooms)  and  laundry  been  commenced. 
Though  the  rooms  and  offices  were  a  welcome  advance  on  the 
previous  acconmiodation,  they  would  not  stand  the  test  of 
modern  sanitary  requirements.  Fireplaces  were  scarce;  and 
although  some  apparatus  was  used  for  heating  the  larger  rooms 
and  passages,  we  have  Sir  John  Lambert's  testimony  that  it 
was    altogether   insufficient.      In   the  winter  the  cold  in  the 

206 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

dormitory  was  sometimes  painfully  severe ;  and  in  the  summer 
the  atmosphere  was  often  stuffy  and  unpleasant  from  inade- 
quate ventilation.  A  bath  was  an  unknown  luxury,  and  the 
lavatory  and  other  sanitary  arrangements  were  of  the  primitive 
type  prevalent  in  those  days.  The  only  available  illuminant 
was  the  ordinary  tallow  candle :  a  few  years  ago,  while  some 
repairs  were  being  made,  one  of  these  candles  was  found  be- 
tween the  floor  joists  of  the  old  chapel — a  unique  relic  of  by- 
gone days. 

The  number  of  boys,  which  was  fluctuating  about  twenty 
when  the  new  school  buildings  were  entered,  began  to  increase 
steadily  year  by  year,  and  at  the  opening  of  Prior  Park  in 
1830,  had  reached  sixty;  but  then  for  a  period  the  number 
fell  off  considerably,  owing  to  the  attractions  displayed  by  Dr. 
Baines  in  his  rival  prospectus.  This  doubling  and  trebling  of 
the  numbers  in  so  few  years,  together  with  the  better  housing, 
much  improved  the  morale  of  the  school.  It  introduced  more 
emulation  in  the  studies,  more  life  in  the  games. 

The  following  (before  18 18)  prospectus  will  convey  some  idea 
of  the  education  at  that  time  imparted  at  St.  Gregory's  : — 

"A  General  View  of  the  Course  of  Education. 

"  In  forming  the  Plan  of  Education  pursued  at  Downside 
College,  it  has  ever  been  the  constant  endeavour  of  those  en- 
trusted with  the  arrangement  of  the  studies,  to  unite  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  English,  French,  Latin,  and  Greek  Lan- 
guages, the  acquisition  of  such  Sciences  as  may  be  either  ser- 
viceable or  ornamental  in  life.  With  these  ideas  before  them, 
the  Directors  of  the  Establishment  do  all  in  their  power  to 
teach  their  pupils  a  compleat  course  of  History,  Ancient  and 
Modern;  lay  before  them  a  comprehensive  system  of  Geo- 
graphy, general  and  particular;  conduct  them  through  the 
practical  parts  of  the  Mathematics,  and  every  branch  of  Arith- 
metic ;  and  unfold  unto  them  the  admirable  order  and  arrange- 

207 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

ment  observable  through  all  the  works  of  Nature.  Religion, 
the  great  object  of  man's  concern,  is  particularly  attended  to, 
and  all  its  duties  assiduously  explained  and  enforced. 

"Terms,  40  Guineas  per  annum:  to  be  paid  half-yearly  in 
advance.     Clothing,  Medicines,  Postage,  <S:c.,  not  included.    ■ 

"  Apply  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Lawson,  Downside  College, 
near  Bath ;  or  the  Rev.  M.  Lorymer,  39  Gloucester-street, 
Queen's  Square,  London. 

"  S.  Gregory's  College, 
*'  Downside-house." 

A  prospectus  is  a  promise,  and  its  value  is  to  be  judged  by 
the  results  produced.  We  have  the  testimony  of  Archbishop 
Ullathorne  and  of  Sir  John  Lambert,  both  inmates  of  the 
school  at  the  period  referred  to,  who  speak  of  the  efficiency  of 
the  teaching,  and  of  the  devotion  to  duty  of  the  masters. 

Dr.  Ullathorne  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Tablet  of  December  9, 
1848,  which  is  here  put  under  contribution,  and  it  is  certainly 
remarkable,  even  after  due  allowance  has  been  made  for 
very  natural  idealisation.  "  I  shall  bear  witness,"  he  says, 
"  to  my  own  experience  by  briefly  narrating  the  course  of 
studies  pursued  in  the  class  of  which  I  had  the  happiness  to 
be  a  member  in  the  college  of  Downside.  .  .  .  Having  previ- 
ously been  at  a  Protestant  school  of  provincial  repute  in  its 
day,  I  must  say  that  I  learnt  more  in  a  few  weeks  on  first 
entering  a  Catholic  college  than  in  a  year  before.  .  .  .  The 
languages  taught — I  say  actually  taught — were  Greek,  Latin, 
French,  Italian,  and  English.  German  was  not  so  much  in 
vogue  in  those  days,  but  a  class  in  that  language  has  since 
been  added.  .  .  .  The  principal  classics  were  studied  down- 
right ;  and  more  than  once,  as  boys,  we  were  amused  at  seeing 
new  companions  from  Protestant  schools,  who  boasted  their 
upper  classes,  put  down  to  Csesar  to  learn  their  rudiments.  In 
fact,  I  have  known  boys  so  coming  examined  in  presence  of 

208 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

their  parents,  with  a  view  to  prevent  any  future  misunderstand- 
ings. I  pass  no  indiscriminate  censure  on  Protestant  schools, 
but  I  state  the  facts  which  fell  under  my  own  observation. 
As  the  students  advanced,  the  commentators  were  put  into 
their  hands,  the  genius  of  authors  pointed  out,  the  peculi- 
arities and  beauties  of  thought  and  style  discriminated.  The 
writing  of  exercises  accompanied  the  entire  study  of  the  lan- 
guages. As  we  advanced  higher,  though  continually  brought 
back  to  first  elements,  the  mass  of  information  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  lessons  became  more  ample  and  profound.  We  cer- 
tainly had  not  to  complain  of  '  half-taught '  masters.  It  is  a 
fact  that  two  of  the  first  Greek  medals  won  at  the  London 
University  were  borne  away  by  students  whose  chief  studies 
had  been  at  Downside,  and  who  succeeded  us  in  the  course. 
We  did  not,  it  is  true,  act  Terence,  like  the  Westminster  boys, 
but  a  translation  of  that  author  was  first  read  by  the  master, 
then  the  student  did  his  best  to  form  it  into  Latin.  This  pro- 
duction having  been  well  criticised  and  amended,  he  was  then 
introduced  to  the  original,  and  the  zest  arising  out  of  this  com- 
parison fixed  the  idioms  of  the  author  deeply  in  the  mind. 
Not  only  were  the  understanding  and  the  judgment  trained, 
but  the  memory  at  certain  periods  had  its  exercitations  also. 
I  have  known  a  student,  lying  down  in  a  hay-field,  repeat  by 
memory,  for  example,  a  book  of  Virgil  and  the  Ars  Poetica. 
English  composition  was  well  attended  to  throughout,  as  well 
as  elocution.  One  of  Shakespeare's  best  plays  was  well 
studied  and  brought  out  yearly,  so  that  in  the  duration  of 
the  course  five  or  six  of  the  great  poet's  productions  were 
thoroughly  comprehended.  A  course  of  ancient  and  modern 
geography  was  given  with  care,  and  this  is  a  study  in  which 
youth  is  not  apt  to  be  negligent.  History  was  a  favourite 
study  in  the  college;  a  system  of  mnemonics  for  the  chro- 
nology gave  it  both  zest  and  consistency.  There  was  a  sepa- 
rate course  of  ancient,  Roman,  modern,  and  Church  history. 

209  o 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

Many  of  the  students  read  the  larger  works  copiously  in  private. 
Besides  their  own  library,  the  elder  boys  had  books  from  the 
public  library,  under  regulations.  Soon  after  I  had  left  that 
side  of  the  establishment,  the  elder  boys  established  a  peri- 
odical (the  Microcosm)^  and  one  young  poet  (E.  Athy)  came 
out  with  a  force  and  beauty  which  surprised  us,  but  he  died 
young.  There  was  quite  a  literary  enthusiasm  amongst  them. 
After  our  arithmetic  was  completed,  we  followed  up  our  mathe- 
matics into  conic  sections,  and  acquired  the  elements  of 
algebra." 

K  side-light  is  thrown  on  the  masters'  devotion  to  duty  by  an 
example  of  readiness  to  sacrifice  recreation  in  order  to  help 
on  backward  boys.  Fr.  Brown  was  certainly  justified  in  the 
satisfaction  he  expressed,  when,  notwithstanding  the  absorbing 
nature  of  his  own  studies  in  theology  and  canon  law,  his  ordinary 
professorial  duties,  and  monastic  routine,  he  wrote  :  "  I  do  feel 
a  certain  pride  in  reflecting  that  in  recreation  time  I  have  gone 

over  with  a  boy  such  as  N is,  of  no  great  abilities,  and 

when  I  began  with  him  very  backward,  in  a  year  and  a  half, 
the  whole  of  Horace,  three  books  of  Livy,  four  Satires 
of   Juvenal,    and   part    of    Terence's    Heautontimorumenos." 

N ,    "of  no  great  abilities,"   no   doubt  felt  equal,  if  not 

greater,  satisfaction  at  his  performance :  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
he  gave  the  credit  where  it  was  due. 

A  Downside  day  at  that  period  was  a  busy  one,  as  the  well- 
filled  horarium  testifies.  Here  it  is:  5.20,  rise;  6,  study;  8.30, 
breakfast;  9,  mass;  9,30,  study;  10,  recreation;  10.30, 
study;  i,  dinner  and  recreation:  3,  study;  4.30,  recreation; 
5,  study  ;  7,  supper,  visit  to  the  chapel,  recreation  ;  8.30,  night 
prayers  and  bed.  An  hour's  extra  sleep  was  given  on  Sunday 
and  Thursday  mornings,  and  a  half-holiday  on  Tuesdays  and 
Thursdays.  This  horarium  underwent  certain  changes  in 
process  of  time.  Thus,  the  hour  of  rising  was  fixed  at  6  a.m., 
studies  occupied  the  hour  between  6.30  and  7.30,  when  the 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

boys  assisted  at  mass.  This  was  followed  by  breakfast  at  8, 
and  after  a  short  recreation,  studies  were  resumed  at  8.40  ; 
and  night  prayers  were  said  at  9.  This  horarium  was  main- 
tained practically  unchanged  until  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighties. 

The  dietary  was  plain  and  substantial.  The  late  Dr. 
Taunton,  writing  his  recollections  of  those  days  in  the  Down- 
side Review  (1892),  recalled  that  "the  bill  of  fare  was  simple 
but  wholesome,  and  enjoyable  for  hungry  dogs  like  myself. 
Bread,  ad  libitu??t^  and  milk  for  breakfast  and  supper,  except 
upon  the  first  Thursday  of  each  month,  which  was  always  a 
whole  holiday,  when  we  were  allowed  a  pat  of  butter  each  at 
breakfast.  Dinner  was  composed  of  meat  soup ;  plain  boiled 
or  roast  meat ;  and  occasionally  pudding  or  pie."  Sir  John 
Lambert's  recollections  exactly  confirm  these  details,  with 
greater  wealth  of  description ;  but  he  points  out  that  there 
were  two  courses  of  meat  :  the  first  hashes  or  stews ;  the 
second  substantial  joints;  and  these  were  daily  followed  by 
cheese.  He  also  refers  to  the  inaigre  menus  in  vogue 
on  days  of  fasting  and  abstinence.  Notwithstanding  this 
Spartan  simplicity,  the  Gregorian  of  those  days  had  a  cer- 
tain advantage  over  contemporary  public  schools,  e.g.  the 
Wykhamist  boys  at  Winchester;  for  at  Downside  the  "food 
was  served  on  decent  household  ware,  and  not  on  w^ooden 
trenchers."  The  beer,  being  home-brewed,  w^ould  never 
have  been  too  heady,  and  was  drunk  out  of  pewter  cups 
or  mugs. 

The  year's  work  concluded  with  an  exhibition  or  academy 
day.  The  programme  for  this  event  in  1829  has  survived, 
under  the  title  oi  Prospectus  of  the  Exa7nination.  This  neatly 
written  scholastic  menu  treats  us  to  a  variety  of  courses ;  flute 
solos  galore  (this  instrument  being  the  favourite  of  the  music 
master,  Mr.  A.  W.  Taylor,  of  Bath),  songs,  piano  recitations, 
and,  mirabile  dictu,  dancing  and  sword  exercises ;  a  recitation 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

of  Byron's  Waterloo ;  Latin  and  Greek  orations ;  a  monody 
on  Sheridan ;  an  address  to  Greece  composed  and  declaimed 
by  Edmund  Athy ;  together  with  the  presentation  of  quite  a 
number  of  sepia,  colour,  and  crayon  drawings ;  a  series  of 
maps  ;  and  a  copy  of  the  lately  instituted  school  magazine,  the 
Microcos77i,  "  written  by  E.  Athy,  J.  Harting,  J.  Carne,  and 
E.  Eccles." 

At  this  period  there  is  little  of  domestic  interest  to  chronicle. 
In  1827  a  fire  caused  some  alarm.  Prior  Barber  writes  on 
February  21  :  "I  assure  you  we  have  reason  to  be  grateful  to 
Divine  Providence  for  our  happy  escape  from  the  fire ;  we 
all  repaired  to  the  Chapel  and  sung  a  Te  Deum  as  soon  as 
the  fire  was  out,  and  had  a  High  Mass  at  nine  o'clock  in 
gratiaruin  actionem.'' 

In  the  same  year  the  sodality  was  re-established  on  the 
basis  of  the  old  one  at  Douay,  which  had  been  solemnly 
"  instituted,  erected,  and  founded"  on  May  22,  1678,  by  a 
Dominican  father  "  after  a  sermon  and  Mass  of  the  Holy 
Rosary  at  an  altar  expressly  prepared  and  ornamented  with  a 
picture  of  the  Annunciation."  In  the  troubles  consequent  on 
the  French  Revolution  the  sodality  had  fallen  into  abeyance. 
Dom  Bede  Folding,  to  whom  is  due  the  credit  for  its  revival, 
drew  up  the  Libeilus  Precum  in  use  to  this  day,  and  designed  the 
well-known  sodality  cross.  Cardinal  Weld  obtained  a  renewal 
of  the  indulgences  granted  to  the  old  sodality,  and  his  name 
appears  first  on  the  list  of  members  who  were  admitted  to  the 
reconstituted  confraternity.  This  restoration  of  the  sodality 
was  another  link  with  old  St.  Gregory's. 

For  the  third  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  is 
nothing  to  record  in  the  history  of  the  school  as  such ;  though 
in  1834  the  boys  were  interested  over  the  celebrated  contro- 
versy between  Dom  Brown,  their  prefect  of  studies,  and  two 
trained  Protestant  clergymen.  The  origin  of  the  "  Downside 
Discussion  "  was  briefly  explained  by  E.   Caulfield,   Esq.,   of 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

Bath,  the  chairman,  in  opening  the  first  meeting.  "At  the 
Old  Down  Inn,  on  the  loth  of  January  1834,  a  meeting  of  the 
Reformation  Society  was  held,  at  which  the  Roman  Catholic 
doctrine  of  Purgatory  was,  by  public  announcement,  to  be 
compared  with  Scripture,  intimation  having  been  given  that 
any  Roman  Catholic  Priest,  pledging  himself  to  abide  by  the 
rules  which  would  be  read  to  the  meeting,  should  be  heard  in 
defence.  Towards  the  close  of  the  meeting,  a  friend  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  of  Downside  College  [Mr.  S.  Day,  of  Bath, 
uncle  of  the  present  Right  Honourable  Sir  John  Day,  P.C.], 
declared  that  Mr.  Brown  was  willing  to  discuss,  upon  certain 
conditions,  any  of  the  points  of  controversy  between  Roman 
Catholics  and  Protestants ;  stating,  however,  that  he  had  not 
been  authorised  to  make  this  declaration,  but  that  he  could 
answer  for  his  approbation." 

Dom  Brown  had  engaged  in  similar  disputations  previ- 
ously, notably  at  Cheltenham  in  1830;  and  from  his  success 
in  these  he  brought  to  the  trying  task  no  ordinary  share  of 
ability,  acumen,  and  learning.  He  considered  he  was  bound 
in  honour  to  abide  by  the  vicarious  challenge;  accordingly, 
a  meeting  was  arranged,  and  the  discussions  took  place  in  the 
Downside  chapel  on  six  different  days  in  February  and  March 
1834,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  gathering  of  visitors,  and  of 
the  monks  and  boys.  The  opponents  were  well  matched,  and 
some  shrewd  dialectic  blows  were  given  and  taken  on  both 
sides.  On  the  Protestant  side  were  the  Revv.  Edward  Totten- 
ham and  J.  Lyon ;  and  Fr.  Brown  had  two  assistants,  Revv. 
T.  M.  MacDonnell  and  F.  Edgeworth.  It  will  suffice  here  to 
recall  that  Mr.  Kegan  Paul  has  left  it  on  record  that  though 
he  was  too  young  at  the  time  to  appreciate  the  points  of  the 
controversy,  the  impression  left  on  his  mind  by  the  conver- 
sations of  his  elders,  convinced  him  that  the  superiority  lay 
with  the  Catholics ;  and  that  impression  was  confirmed  when 
he  read  for  himself  a  few  years  later  the  report  of  the  debates, 

213 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

published  under  the  title  of  "The  Downside  Discussion." 
He  was  then,  of  course,  a  Protestant.  Naturally,  however, 
both  sides  claimed  the  victory;  and,  as  a  lasting  memorial, 
the  Protestants  erected  a  thanksgiving  chapel  and  schools  in 
Knit's  Lane — the  road  leading  from  Chilcompton  Station  to 
Gurney  Blade. 

In  the  summer  of  that  year  Dom  Brown  had  conferred 
upon  him  a  well-earned  doctor's  cap;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  on  Prior  Turner's  retirement  after  four  years  of  office, 
he  was  elected  Prior  of  St.  Gregory's  :  an  office  he  filled  till 
1840,  when  the  number  of  vicars-apostolic  being  increased 
from  four  to  eight,  his  old  friend  Cardinal  Cappellari,  now 
Pope  Gregory  XVL,  named  him  first  bishop  of  the  newly 
constituted  Welsh  Vicariate,  formerly  included  in  the  Western 
District. 

It  was  during  the  priorship  of  Dr.  Brown  that  our  late  be- 
loved Queen  ascended  her  throne.  But  it  is  grievous  to  relate 
that  the  day  of  her  coronation,  June  28,  1838,  was  spent  by 
the  boys  in  study  !  Some  loyal  youth,  inspired  by  the  occa- 
sion, committed  some  breach  of  discipline.  The  prefect, 
Dom  Nicholas  Kendal,  most  loyal  of  Englishmen,  rather 
foolishly  required  that  the  delinquent  should  report  himself, 
or  that  his  companions  should  denounce  him  on  pain  of  for- 
feiting their  holiday.  The  boys  honourably  refused  to  give  up 
the  name  of  the  defaulter,  and  the  prefect  remaining  firm  (or 
obstinate)  they  passed  the  great  day  in  study  as  usual.  We 
doff  our  caps  to  their  memory. 

Towards  the  end  of  Prior  Brown's  term  of  office  the  half 
jubilee  of  the  acquirement  of  Downside  occurred.  This 
epoch  was  commemorated  by  "  the  Smythe  family  generously 
inviting  all  the  Benedictines  who  had  been  educated  at  Acton 
Burnell  to  enjoy  their  hospitality  in  that  ancient  mansion. 
Of  the  nineteen  Benedictines  then  in  England  [to  whom  that 
invitation  was  applicable],  fifteen  attended  that  happy  reunion 

214 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.    GREGORY'S 

of  friends  and  brothers."     So  does  Dr.  George  Oliver  record 
in  his  Collections. 

Dr.  Brown  was  succeeded  by  Dom  Peter  Wilson  in  1840, 
the  first  prior  who  had  actually  passed  through  the  school  at 
Downside,  and,  as  Dr.  George  Oliver  expressed  it,  "for  fourteen 
years  Downside  flourished  under  his  auspices."  Quietly,  per- 
severingly,  doggedly,  almost,  he  set  himself  to  the  task  before 
him,  and  without  fuss  or  bustle,  one  department  after  another 
shewed  the  result  of  his  careful  supervision.  The  farm,  al- 
ways a  favourite  object  of  his  solicitude,  was  thoroughly  set  in 
order;  new  buildings  were  erected;  the  most  up-to-date 
methods  of  cultivation  introduced ;  the  breed  of  live-stock 
improved,  till  the  Downside  farm  of  his  days  came  to  be  re- 
garded for  many  miles  round  as  a  model  one.  As  these  im- 
provements were  for  the  ultimate  use  and  good  of  the  school, 
it  follows  that  the  school  would  be  no  less  the  object  of  his 
care.  About  the  time  of  his  acceptance  of  the  priorship,  a 
project  was  mooted  for  affiliating  various  schools  and  colleges 
throughout  England  to  the  University  of  London,  recently 
founded  and  chartered  by  Queen  Victoria.  The  measure  was 
eagerly  canvassed,  and  as  eagerly  taken  up  by  the  superiors  of 
the  chief  Catholic  schools,  who  recognised  in  its  adoption  a 
means  to  keep  up  the  level  of  their  studies  through  the  open 
competition  it  afforded,  and  the  possibility  of  comparing  their 
own  work  with  that  going  on  in  other  educational  centres. 
Above  all,  here  was  afforded  an  opportunity  of  supplying  in 
some  degree  the  long-felt  want  of  a  university  course.  To 
Downside  and  its  prior  belongs  the  honour  of  having  headed 
the  movement,  and  before  many  years  had  passed,  not  a  few 
Gregorians  had  won  distinction  in  the  lists  of  the  young  uni- 
versity. A  copy  of  the  Act  of  Affiliation,  bearing  a  very  fine 
example  of  her  late  Majesty's  signature  is  here  appended. 
The  original  is  a  treasured  document  in  the  archives  at 
Downside. 

215 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

{Endorsed)  "Warrant  to  the  Catholic  College  of  Saint 
Gregory  the  Great,  situate  at  Downside,  near  the  City 
of  Bath,  to  issue  Certificates  to  the  Candidates  for 
Degrees  in  the  University  of  London. 

"  Victoria  Reg.  {autograph). 

{Loc.  Sig.)  "Victoria  by  the  Grace  of  God  of  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  Queen  Defender  of  the 
Faith  «S:c.  To  our  trusty  and  well  beloved  The  President, 
Vice  President,  Procurator,  Professors,  Readers,  Tutors,  and 
Students  of  the  Catholic  College  of  Saint  Gregory  the  Great 
situate  at  Downside  near  the  City  of  Bath,  Greeting.  Whereas 
We  did  by  our  Letters  Patent  under  the  Great  Seal  of  Our 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  bearing  date 
at  Westminster  the  fifth  and  twenty-sixth  days  of  December  in 
the  First  year  of  Our  Reign  Will  Grant  Declare  and  Consti- 
tute the  Persons  therein  named  to  be  one  Body  Corporate 
and  Politic  by  the  name  of  the  University  of  London.  And 
Whereas  We  did  therein  amongst  other  things  Will  and 
Ordain  that  All  Persons  should  be  admitted  as  Candidates 
for  the  respective  Degrees  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Master  of  Arts, 
Bachelor  of  Laws,  or  Doctor  of  Laws,  to  be  conferred  by  the 
said  University  on  presenting  to  the  Chancellor  Vice-Chan- 
cellor  and  Fellows  thereof  a  Certificate  of  their  having  com- 
pleted the  requisite  Course  of  Instruction  from  the  College 
called  University  College  or  from  the  College  called  King's 
College  or  from  such  other  Institution  Corporate  or  uncor- 
porated  as  now  are  or  hereafter  shall  be  established  for  the 
purpose  of  Education  whether  in  the  Metropolis  or  elsewhere 
within  Our  said  United  Kingdom,  As  We  Our  Heirs  and 
Successors  under  Our  or  Their  Sign  Manual  shall  hereafter 
authorize  to  issue  such  Certificates. 

"  Now  know  ye  that  We  reposing  great  Confidence  in  your 
Learning,  Ability  and  Discretion,  do  hereby  authorize  you  to 

216 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

issue  to  such  Persons  as  may  be  desirous  of  becoming  Candi- 
dates for  the  respective  Degrees  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Master  of 
Arts,  Bachelor  of  Laws,  or  Doctor  of  Laws,  to  be  conferred  by 
the  said  University  of  London,  Certificates  to  the  effect  that 
such  Candidates  have  completed  the  Course  of  Instruction 
which  the  Chancellor  Vice-Chahcellor  and  Fellows  of  the  said 
University  of  London  by  Regulation  in  that  behalf  shall  have 
determined. 

"  Given  at  Our  Court  at  Saint  James's  the  Second  Day 
of  February  1841.  In  the  Fourth  Year  of  Our 
Reign. 

"  By  Her  Majesty's  Command, 

{autograph)         "  Normanby." 

Both  studies  and  discipline  flourished  in  the  school  under 
Dom  Peter  Wilson.  The  life  of  a  school,  like  that  of  an 
individual,  has  its  critical  periods,  its  troubles  and  anxieties, 
and  only  by  watchful,  discreet,  and  firm  though  mild  direction, 
can  difficulties  be  surmounted,  and  trials  turned  into  blessings 
of  strength  renewed  and  invigorated.  Some  such i  period 
occurred  during  the  fourth  decade  of  the  century,  after  the 
removal  of  Dr.  Polding  and  Dr.  Davis,  who  were  raised  to  the 
episcopate.  The  times  were  somewhat  rough  and  turbulent, 
with  a  passing  element  of  insubordination.  With  the  need 
came  the  men  to  meet  it  in  the  persons  of  Dom  Oswald 
Davis,  the  prefect,  and  Dom  Norbert  Sweeney,  the  sub- 
prefect,  the  former  nicknamed  "the  arm,"  the  latter  "the 
hand  and  tongue."  By  their  joint  efforts  the  unruly  symptoms 
were  suppressed  before  they  had  become  hurtful,  and  a  solid 
and  traditional  system  of  school  discipline  was  established, 
which  was  a,  revival  of  the  past  and  stood  the  test  of  sub- 
sequent years. 

Nothwithstanding  evanescent  causes  for  anxiety,  the  general 

217 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

reputation  of  the  school  was  high  in  the  estimation  of  those 
outside  its  walls.  The  following  letter  from  Dr.  Coombes,  a 
great  friend  of  St.  Gregory's,  though  not  himself  a  Gregorian, 
will  best  illustrate  this  : — 

''January  8,  1 838. 

"  Dear  and  respected  Madam, — .  .  .  The  number  of 
students  is  limited  to  about  forty ;  among  the  whole 
there  reigns  a  great  spirit  of  religion  and  piety :  on  this 
fruitful  stock  is  engrafted  whatever  is  useful  and  ornamental 
in  the  department  of  education.  The  masters,  for  skill  and 
assiduity  and  temper,  are  fully  equal  to  their  important  func- 
tions, and  between  them  and  their  students  there  prevails  a 
confidence  which  is  truly  exemplary.  Dr.  Brown  brings  into 
actibn  his  powerful  abilities,  by  taking  a  class  to  teach  ;  a 
circumstance  which  produces  an  effect  similar  to  what  is 
witnessed  when  a  general  heads  his  troops  in  person.  As  to 
the  proportion  of  English  to  Irish  students,  the  number  of  the 
latter  is  comparatively  small.  The  situation  of  the  place  is 
eminently  healthy,  and  the  comforts  of  the  students  truly 
appropriate  and  inviting.  In  consequence  of  these  advantages, 
many  respectable  English  families,  the  Smythes,  the  Boden- 
hams,  the  Blounts,  and  others,  continue  to  honour  Downside 
with  their  confidence,  which  has  been  fully  justified  by  the 
conduct  of  many  excellent  young  men  who  have  been  educated 
in  that  asylum  of  worth.  In  fact,  truth  and  candour  oblige 
me  to  say  that  ...  it  has  never  been  my  fate  during  a  long 
life  personally  to  witness  a  more  desirable  estabHshment  than 
Downside  College. — With  kind  regards,  &c.,  I  am,  &c." 

Applications  for  admission  steadily  flowed  in,  and  some  ex- 
tension of  the  school  buildings  as  completed  in  1823  became 
a  matter  of  necessity  if  not  urgency.  Early  in  Prior  Wilson's 
term  of  office  he  applied  to  Augustus  Welby  Pugin  for  a  design 
for  the  proposed  new  buildings.     Materials  were  accumulated, 

218 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

and  a  new  road  was  commenced,  so  as  to  keep  intact  the 
avenue  of  elms  from  the  main  gate  to  the  old  house.  Pugin 
supplied  two  plans,  still  preserved  at  Downside,  signed  and 
dated  by  him.  The  earlier  one,  strange  to  say,  belongs  to 
1839,  shewing  that  Dr.  Brown  had  recognised  the  necessity  of 
further  building,  for  it  is  anterior  in  point  of  time  to  Prior 
Wilson's  entry  into  office.  This  plan  was  apparently  con- 
sidered unsuitable  for  Downside's  requirements,  and  Prior 
Wilson  again  applied  to  Pugin.  The  second  design  certainly 
possessed  the  merit  of  extreme  simplicity  of  detail.  It  con- 
sisted of  an  enormous  square,  composed  of  four  quadrangles, 
one  each  for  the  community,  the  boys,  the  guests,  and  the  lay 
brothers  and  servants,  with  an  adjunct  for  an  infirmary;  and  with 
a  church  300  feet  long,  adorned  by  three  spires.  In  an  article 
on  The  present  state  of  ecclesiastical  architecture  in  England  in 
the  Dublin  Review  for  February  1842,  Pugin  gave  a  descrip- 
tion, accompanied  by  a  view  of  the  proposed  new  monastery 
and  school,  as  it  would  appear  when  completed.  In  this 
article  he  stated:  "The  style  adopted  for  this  structure  is 
early  lancet,  as  combining  simplicity  with  true  ecclesiastical 
character.  Each  alley  of  the  cloister  will  measure  above  150 
feet  in  length,  the  refectory  80  by  30,  the  walls  3  and  4  feet 
thick ;  which  may  afford  some  data  by  which  the  extent  and 
solidity  of  the  buildings  can  be  imagined.  They^  will  be  con- 
structed on  the  ancient  principle  of  convenience  and  strength 
combined,  without  affectation  of  forced  regularity  or  unneces- 
sary features.  Each  portion  of  the  edifice  will  bespeak  its 
purpose,  from  the  chapter-house  to  the  kitchen.  Roofs  and 
chimney-shafts  stand  forth  undisguised  in  all  the  unadorned 
grandeur  produced  by  their  extent  and  solidity;  and  when 
completed,  this  building  will  furnish  an  admirable  proof  of  the 
vast  superiority  of  effect  that  is  produced  by  the  natural  archi- 
tecture of  our  Catholic  ancestors^  over  the  mock-regularity  system 
of  modern  builders T 

219 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

So  public  an  announcement  of  the  intentions  of  the  autho- 
rities at  Downside  caused  an  impression  that  the  commence- 
ment of  the  building  had  been  decided  upon.  The  well-known 
solicitor,  James  Vincent  Harting,  an  old  Gregorian,  wrote  on 
March  30,  1842:  "I  was  quite  astonished  the  other  day  to 
see  in  the  Dublin  Review  the  Plan  and  prospect  of  the  intended 
Monastery  at  Downside.  Why,  he  has  swept  away  everything 
you  have  done  already,  unless,  perhaps,  Molly  West's  quarters. 
I  can  trace  nothing  else.  When  this  new  building  is  finished, 
Prior  Park,  and  all  our  other  Colleges,  indeed,  may  hide  their 
diminished  heads."  These  anticipations  were  premature. 
Weeks  and  months  passed  by,  and  no  builders  appeared ; 
the  work  of  accumulating  materials  grew  slacker  and  slacker, 
and  at  last  ceased  altogether.  The  delay  was  owing  to  a  dis- 
pute over  a  legacy  under  which  Downside  was  to  benefit,  and 
on  which  it  depended  for  the  funds  needed  for  the  proposed 
extension;  but  St.  Gregory's  waited  many  years  to  secure  a 
share  of  it  disappointingly  small.  Building,  indeed,  began; 
but  the  materials  originally  collected  for  the  school  are  em- 
bodied in  the  farm  buildings  as  they  stand  to-day.  On  the 
whole,  Gregorians  may  congratulate  themselves  on  not  having 
been  committed  to  Pugin's  splendid  design ;  for  it  would  not 
have  commended  itself  to  modern  hygienic  requirements  as 
regards  height,  light,  and  ventilation.  The  real  reason  for  its 
rejection  must  be  sought  for  in  the  president  and  his  council ; 
who,  in  addition  to  the  uncertainty  of  securing  the  aforesaid 
legacy,  were  dismayed  at  the  proposed  expenditure  and  the 
sacrifice  of  capital  involved  in  the  condemnation  and  demo- 
lition of  the  existing  buildings,  particularly  those  dating  from 
1823. 

Many  attempts  were  subsequently  made  to  secure  the  ap- 
proval of  the  president  and  his  council  before  it  was  finally 
obtained;  and  then,  on  July  i,  1853,  the  foundation-stone  of 
a  new  block  of  buildings  to  increase  school  accommodation 

220 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

was  laid ;  its  architect,  however,  was  not  Pugin,  but  Charles 
Hansom,  of  Clifton,  whose  work  at  Coventry  a  few  years  pre- 
viously, in  conjunction  with  Dr.  UUathorne,  had  attracted  a 
good  deal  of  attention.  This  rising  architect  prepared  plans 
involving  a  complete  remodelling  of  Downside ;  and  as  an  in- 
stalment of  an  entire  design  never  destined  to  see  realisation, 
the  "  New  College  "  block  was  taken  in  hand,  consisting  of  the 
present  study  and  play-rooms,  together  with  class-rooms,  an 
exhibition-hall  known  from  the  first  as  the  "palace,"  and 
some  twenty  bedrooms  for  the  elder  boys.  These  much- 
needed  additions  to  existing  accommodation  were  not,  how- 
ever, completed  and  ready  for  use  till  after  Dom  Norbert 
Sweeney  had  succeeded  Dom  Peter  Wilson  in  the  priorship. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  record  that  four  foundation-stones 
were  well  and  truly  laid  on  that  July  i,  1853,  the  first  by  the 
prior,  the  second  by  the  architect,  the  third  by  Br.  Ephrem 
Guy,  the  youngest  member  of  the  community,  and  the  last  by 
James  Ford,  the  youngest  boy  then  in  the  school  and  the 
eldest  brother  of  the  present  first  Abbot  of  Downside.  At  the 
end  of  the  religious  ceremony,  the  architect,  on  the  impulse  of 
the  moment,  called  for  three  cheers;  and  much  amusement 
was  caused  by  Prior  Wilson,  whose  habitual  reserve  was 
thrown  off  its  balance  by  this  unpremeditated  addition  to 
the  ceremony;  for,  although  vested  in  a  cope,  he  turned 
round  and  joined  in  the  acclamations  by  waving  his  biretta 
in  a  stiff  and  hesitating  manner,  as  if  uncertain  of  the  pro- 
priety of  what  he  was  doing.  The  work  of  construction 
once  commenced,  proceeded  quickly,  and  in  fifteen  months 
the  boys  were  able  to  occupy  the  new  premises,  though  the 
preceding  winter  had  been  so  severe  that  for  a  time  the  works 
had  to  be  entirely  suspended.  In  material  and  style  the  1854 
extension  differs  from  the  1823  block,  although  the  contrast  is 
not  violent.  Like  its  predecessor,  it  is  Gothic — domestic 
rather   than   ecclesiastical.     It  is   plain  even   to  severity;   of 

221 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

white  lias  in  narrow  courses,  with  well-defined  mortar  lines,  as 
contrasting  with  big  blocks  of  oolite  with  invisible  joinings ; 
and  again  without  string-courses,  hood-mouldings,  or  pierced 
parapets.  And  yet  the  effect  is  satisfactory,  and  the  view  of 
the  1854  quadrangle  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing  at  Downside. 


THE    1854   QUADRANGLE 

The  turret  in  the  angle  is  graceful,  giving  a  distinctive  finish 
to  a  beautiful,  harmonious,  and  withal  modest  building,  which 
boasts  of  only  two  decorative  features.  The  one  is  the  fine 
oriel  window  resting  on  a  massive  buttress  at  the  south  end  of 
the  "  palace  "  or  exhibition-room ;  the  other  is  the  statue  of 

222 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

St.  Gregory,  with  its  canopied  niche  in  the  centre  of  the  south 
front,  the  gift  of  George  Durrant,  Esq.,  an  old  Gregorian, 
and  during  his  whole  hfe  a  devoted  son  of  Alma  Mater. 

The  internal  accommodation  provided  several  private  rooms 
for  the  elder  boys,  play-room  and  corridor,  exhibition-room, 
philosophical-instrument  room,  chemical  laboratory,  study- 
room,  and  class-rooms,  sodality  library,  and  "  shoe-place." 
The  large  flagged  play-room  was  a  great  advance  on  its  pre- 
decessor. Numbered  lockers  were  fixed  round  the  room ;  a 
table  and  the  solid  wooden  benches  bought  at  the  sale  of  the 
effects  of  Prior  Park  were  the  only  furniture.  The  "  palace,"  a 
fine  lofty  room  with  arched  roof,  used  for  the  purposes  of  theatri- 
cals and  exhibitions,  was  so  named  because  the  annual  "  Court 
of  St.  Gregory's"  was  held  there.  Its  fine  oriel  window,  looking 
out  on  the  lawn,  is  embellished  with  the  armorial  bearings  of 
Archbishop  Polding,  and  Bishops  Morris,  Davis,  Brown,  Ulla- 
thorne,  and  Collier,  all  Gregorians,  with  the  exception  of  the 
last  named,  who  was  a  monk  of  St.  Edmund's,  Douay.  In 
this  room  w^as  erected  the  stage ;  its  handsome  Gothic  front, 
with  the  legend  "  God  save  the  King,"  has  puzzled  many 
visitors  during  the  long  reign  of  her  late  Majesty,  Queen 
Victoria.  Here,  for  close  on  fifty  years,  the  Shakespeare  play 
at  Christmas,  and  other  entertainments  at  different  periods  of 
the  year,  have  been  mostly  presented. 

Underneath  the  palace  was  the  study-room.  The  study- 
room,  according  to  the  common  traditions  of  all  English 
Catholic  schools,  occupies  a  prominent  place,  not  only  in 
the  internal  arrangement  of  each  school,  but  also  in  a  boy's 
school  life  in  the  present,  and  in  his  after-life's  recollections ; 
for  whether  in  hours  of  study  or  recreation,  it  has  been  and 
is  to  him  the  arena  for  thought,  work,  and  effort.  The 
scene  of  so  many  mental  contests  has  been  from  time  to  time 
changed  as  to  site  in  the  history  of  Downside's  development. 
When  Mount  Pleasant  was  occupied  in  1814,  the  boys  were 

223 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

huddled  in  a  tiny  room  at  the  back  of  the  old  house,  in 
what  in  more  recent  years  was  known  as  the  "  tailor's  shop." 
And  yet  good  and  solid  were  the  results  of  the  work  done 
there  under  such  unpromising  conditions.  After  1823,  those 
who  had  studied  under  these  cramped  conditions  must  have 
thought  themselves  in  a  palace  when  they  found  themselves  in 
what  is  now  the  Petre  Library,  even  though  its  ceiling  was  then 
at  least  8  or  9  feet  lower.  This  room  grew  out  of  date,  and 
even  the  present  and  larger  study-room  occupied  since  1854 
will  need  further  enlargement  to  meet  modern  requirements 
and  accommodate  increased  numbers.  It  may  here  be  re- 
corded that  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  study-room  at 
Douay  was  known  as  the  "  Musaeum."  When  this  name  was 
conferred,  and  when  it  ceased  to  be  used  in  that  connection, 
cannot  be  determined. 

The  extra  space  provided  in  1854  suggested  alterations  in 
the  internal  arrangements  of  the  older  block  to  make  it  more 
suitable  for  school  purposes.  The  dismal,  coffin-shaped,  old 
play-room,  with  its  unplastered,  yellow-washed  walls,  its  unap- 
proachable windows,  its  rough,  scanty  accoutrements  of  boxes, 
benches,  and  iron-bound  table,  in  a  few  months  was  trans- 
formed into  a  much-needed  lavatory.  The  old  "  wash-house  " 
leading  out  of  it  became  a  bath-room.  The  old  class-rooms 
disappeared  bodily,  and  in  their  place  a  corridor  connected 
the  1823  block  with  the  new  one,  leaving  a  series  of  useful 
cupboards.  The  old  study-room  became  a  billiard-room,  and 
a  place  for  choir  and  band  practice,  and  then,  till  the  com- 
pletion of  the  new  monastery  in  1874,  the  monks'  library. 

But  the  story  of  change  has  gone  on  too  fast  for  the 
sequence  of  events.  In  1864  St.  Gregory's  had  completed 
fifty  years  of  existence  at  Downside — years  full  of  activity, 
material  and  intellectual,  and  it  was  deemed  fitting  to  celebrate 
such  an  occasion  with  due  solemnity.  The  celebration  at 
Downside  was  preceded  a  few  weeks  previously  by  what  is 

224 


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DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

unusual  in  the  chronicle  of  similar  festivities.  The  Prior  of 
Downside,  accompanied  by  a  few  of  the  monks,  journeyed  to 
Acton  Burnell,  where  they  joined  the  Smythe  family  in  cele- 
brating the  jubilee  of  the  departure  of  St.  Gregory's  from  that 
hospitable  refuge.  Sir  Frederick  Smythe  afterwards  came  to 
Downside  for  the  great  event,  for  which  fitting  preparation 
had  meanwhile  been  made.  The  records  of  that  enthusiastic 
celebration  have  not  been  entered  in  any  school  Fasti ;  but 
a  full  account  was  furnished  at  the  time  to  the  Tablet  and  the 
Weekly  Register^  portions  of  which  may  do  duty  here. 

"A  few  weeks  ago  the  Tablet  contained  the  record  of  a 
most  interesting  event  that  took  place  at  Acton  Burnell,  the 
Jubilee  of  the  fifty  years  since  the  departure  of  the  Community 
of  St.  Gregory's  from  that  hallowed  spot,  where  it  had  found 
so  generous  a  protection  and  so  peaceful  a  home  after  the 
storms  of  the  French  Revolution.  The  past  week  has  wit- 
nessed the  celebration  of  the  correlative  event,  the  Jubilee  of 
the  fifty  years  since  the  arrival  of  the  Community  at  their  new 
home  at  Downside.  Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  presume 
that  a  short  and  informal  account  of  the  festival  will  be  inter- 
esting to  your  readers,  especially  to  sons  of  Alma  Mater.  .  .  . 

"  The  Jubilee  was  inaugurated  on  Tuesday  morning  (June 
2i)  by  a  solemn  Pontifical  High  Mass,  which  was  sung  by  the 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  Dr.  Clifford.  On  one  side  of  the  choir 
were  ranged  the  three  Gregorian  Bishops  of  Troy,  of  Menevia, 
and  of  Birmingham,  each  in  cope  and  mitre,  whilst  opposite 
to  them  were  seated  the  Abbots  of  Glastonbury  and  St.  Ed- 
mundsbury,  also  in  cope  and  mitre.  Never  had  so  many 
mitred  heads  assembled  within  the  sanctuary  of  the  College 
Chapel. 

"  After  the  Gospel,  the  Right  Reverend  Dr.  Morris  ascended 
the  steps  of  the  altar  and  delivered  a  most  beautiful  and  touch- 
ing discourse." 

The  Tablet  was  furnished  with  a  "meagre  outline"  of  it, 

225  p 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

which  may  be  omitted  here  with  advantage,  although  it  was 
then  said  of  it  that  "  whilst  it  evidently  welled  up  fresh  and 
spontaneous  from  the  heart  of  the  preacher,  [it]  penetrated 
all  the  more  deeply  into  the  hearts  of  the  audience." 

"  But  it  is  time  now  to  pass  on  to  the  festivities  of  the  even- 
ing. Many  things  were  said  worthy  of  a  permanent  record, 
yet  we  must  content  ourselves  with  a  short  outline  of  the 
proceedings.  The  toast  of  the  evening,  which  was  proposed 
by  Father  Prior,  was  to  that  band  of  brothers  who  fifty  years 
ago  had  left  Acton  Burnell  for  Downside.  The  Hon.  and 
Right  Reverend  Dr.  Clifford  was  peculiarly  happy  in  his 
speech.  He  spoke  of  his  singular  privilege  and  blessing  in 
having  within  his  Diocese  an  institution  such  as  St.  Gregory's. 
When  he  recalled  to  his  mind  all  that  England  owed  to  the 
children  of  St.  Benedict,  for  her  Faith,  for  her  civilisation,  for 
so  much  that  was  beautiful  in  art,  and  valuable  in  literature, 
he  could  not  help  feeling  that  to  be  Catholic  was  to  be  Bene- 
dictine. He  spoke  of  the  singular  blessing  which  sometimes 
attached  itself,  age  after  age,  to  hallowed  spots  and  regions. 
Such  a  spot  was  Glastonbury.  And  when  after  its  long  exile, 
the  Benedictine  Order  returned  again  to  its  English  home,  it 
was  through  the  guidance  of  a  sacred  instinct  that  St.  Gregory's 
came  to  shelter  near  a  spot  that  had  been  associated  through 
so  many  centuries  with  the  glory  and  the  fruitfulness  of  the 
Benedictine  name.  It  was  like  the  swallows,  when  winter  was 
past,  returning  to  their  old  nests  again.  .  .  . 

"  The  Right  Reverend  Prelates,  Morris,  Brown,  and  Ulla- 
thorne,  each  delivered  most  beautiful  and  striking  speeches. 
They  spoke  of  the  men  of  olden  times,  each  of  whom  in  vita 
sua  suffulsit  do7tium  et  in  diebus  suis  corroboravit  templuni^ 
men  who  had  made  St.  Gregory's  what  it  was ;  some  of  whom, 
such  as  Dr.  Barber,  have  long  since  gone  to  their  reward. 
Others  again,  like  Dr.  Folding,  were  labouring  in  far-off 
vineyards,  and  some  of  whom  were  present  in  fresh  and  vigorous 

226 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

old  age,  and  who,  in  spite  of  their  humility,  were  forced  to 
listen  to  the  recital  of  good  deeds  done  by  stealth,  and  who 
blushed  to  find  them  fame.  Many  an  event  of  bygone  days 
was  re-enacted,  and  many  a  departed  Gregorian  reappeared  on 
the  scene,  recalled  by  the  vivid  traits  that  were  related  of 
them.  It  was  with  little  short  of  rapture  that  the  younger 
members  present  hung  upon  the  lips  of  these  venerable 
speakers,  and  caught  up  the  traditions  of  the  past,  which  it 
is  their  privilege  to  hand  down  to  those  who  shall  come  after 
them. 

"The  great  feature  of  Wednesday's  proceedings  (June  22) 
was  the  celebration  of  a  solemn  Requiem  Mass  by  the  Right 
Reverend  Dr.  Morris,  for  all  the  deceased  members  of  St. 
Gregory's  during  the  last  fifty  years. 

"  A  Cricket  Match  between  Old  and  Young  Downside  was 
the  great  attraction  of  the  day,  in  which  the  latter  came  off 
triumphant.  .  .  . 

"  It  is  deserving  of  special  mention  that  St.  Gregory's  had 
the  peculiar  privilege  of  welcoming  within  her  walls  during 
these  days  of  her  Jubilee  the  present  representative  of  that 
family  to  whom  she  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  no  lapse  of 
years  will  ever  be  able  to  obliterate. 

"  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  visitors  who  were  present  at 
the  Jubilee :  The  Hon.  and  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Clifford,  Bishop  of 
the  Diocese ;  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Morris,  Bishop  of  Troy ;  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Brown,  Bishop  of  Menevia;  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr. 
Ullathorne,  Bishop  of  Birmingham ;  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Hepton- 
stall.  Abbot  of  St.  Edmundsbury ;  the  Rt.  Rev.  W.  D.  Scott, 
Abbot  of  Glastonbury ;  the  V.  Rev.  Dr.  Brindle ;  the  V.  Rev. 
R.  B.  Vaughan,  Prior  of  St.  Michael's  [and  many  others].  .  .  . 

"  Thus  terminated  the  Jubilee  of  the  Convent  and  College 
of  St.  Gregory's.  It  is  now  a  thing  of  the  past,  to  which  all 
who  took  part  in  it  will  look  back  with  the  feelings  of  the 
liveliest  satisfaction.     Alma  Mater's  thoughts  are  now  of  the 

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DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

future,  and  with  freshening  vigour  and  brightening  hopes  she 
is  pressing  onward  through  the  years  towards  the  distant  goal 
of  her  centenary." 

This  account,  which,  in  the  cold  light  of  after  years,  may 
appear  somewhat  perfervid  in  its  enthusiastic  appreciation, 
brings  home  to  us  the  fact  that  the  flight  of  time  has  brought 
us  within  measurable  distance  of  the  celebration  of  the  cen- 
tenary of  St.  Gregory's  home  at  Downside.  The  speakers  at 
St.  Gregory's  in  1864  looked  with  confidence  to  her  expansion 
and  increase ;  and  the  record  of  succeeding  years  bears  wit- 
ness to  the  grounds  for  their  hope  and  expectation.  The 
material  buildings  have  been  more  than  doubled  in  size  and 
importance ;  the  boys  are  nearly  twice  as  numerous  as  those 
who  listened  to  the  speakers  of  1864  "with  little  short  of 
rapture — and  caught  up  the  traditions  of  the  past  which  it 
became  their  privilege  to  hand  down  to  those  who  should 
come  after  them  ; "  and  the  community  is  twice  as  large,  with 
the  additional  advantage  of  a  greater  reserve  in  time  of  need, 
inasmuch  as  through  internal  changes  in  the  organisation  of 
the  English  Benedictine  body,  a  Gregorian  labouring  on  the 
mission  is  liable  to  be  summoned  back  to  the  scenes  of  his 
earlier  scholastic  labours,  and  there  once  more  engage  in  the 
arduous  and  onerous  duty  of  teaching.  Since  that  date,  too, 
growing  educational  requirements  have  led  to  the  employment 
of  lay  masters  to  supplement  the  work  of  the  monks — a  system 
which  prevents  the  evils  and  danger  of  "  inbreeding." 

An  edifice  much  admired  during  the  jubilee  celebrations, 
but  no  longer  standing,  calls  for  mention  here — the  Observa- 
tory. The  best  account  of  it,  and  of  the  purposes  for  which  it 
was  destined,  was  published  by  Abbot  Snow  in  the  pages  of 
the  Downside  Revieiv.  As  there  is  no  one  more  qualified  than 
he  to  describe  an  institution  of  which  he  was  curator,  no 
further  apology  is  needed  for  adopting  and  adapting  that 
description  for  these  pages.     In  the  latter  half  of  the  fifties, 

228 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

rumours  of  the  purchase  in  London  of  a  wonderful  telescopic 
object-glass,  the  "  sister  "  of  which  was  secured  for  the  Govern- 
ment Observatory  at  Cape  Town,  began  to  be  spread  about 
at  Downside.  They  were  soon  confirmed ;  and  through  the 
generosity  of  an  enthusiast  in  astronomical  research,  a  building 
worthy  of  the  glass  came  within  the  range  of  vision,  and 
Downside  already  figured  largely  in  the  picture  as  a  centre  of 
astronomic  and  scientific  life.  The  designs  were  prepared, 
and  quickly  found  realisation  in  stone ;  but  the  appearance  of 
the  building  on  Mogg  Hill  was  not  artistic — it  was  a  temple 
of  science,  not  of  art.  Even  on  a  bright  day,  with  the  blue 
sky  and  a  belt  of  dark  trees  behind,  the  outline  did  not  satisfy 
the  eye.  A  circular  wall  of  white  lias  30  feet  in  diameter 
and  30  feet  high,  with  buttresses  and  semi-Gothic  windows 
interspersed,  surmounted  by  a  large  glistening  zinc  dome  of  no 
approved  shape,  crowned  by  a  cap  in  no  known  architectural 
fashion,  was  not  a  pleasing  object.  A  small  rectangular  transit- 
room  jutted  up  against  it  on  the  west,  destroying  its  symmetry. 
Interiorly  there  were  two  stories,  the  lower  to  be  used  as  a 
museum,  the  upper  carefully  fitted  with  all  the  necessary 
appliances  for  using  the  telescope  there  fixed.  The  expecta- 
tions of  scientific  work,  however,  or  of  credit  to  the  school  from 
the  possession  of  such  a  magnificent  instrument  as  was  there 
installed,  were  doomed  to  speedy  disappointment,  for  hardly 
had  the  work  been  completed  and  observations  commenced 
to  be  made,  than  the  whole  structure  was  in  a  few  hours 
reduced  to  ruin  through  a  disastrous  fire.  At  9  a.m.  on 
Sunday,  January  20,  1867,  ^H  was  right.  At  10  a.m.,  when 
the  alarm  was  raised,  it  was  clear  to  those  who  rushed  to  the 
spot  that  the  building  was  doomed,  notwithstanding  the 
heroic  efforts  made  to  save  it  and  its  precious  contents. 
The  observatory  was  completely  gutted,  a  few  objects  in 
the  museum  alone  escaping  destruction,  and  forming  the 
nucleus  of  the  future  collection.     The  stone  from  the  walls 

229 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

was  utilised  for  the  additions  to  the  school  some  years  after 
undertaken;  the  transit-room  alone  escaped  intact,  and  re- 
mained standing  until  quite  recently.  The  loss  to  the  school 
of  the  observatory,  which  was  never  replaced,  cannot  be  esti- 
mated, for  it  is  not  represented  by  money-value  only ;  it  pro- 
vided an  opportunity,  seldom  within  reach  of  a  school,  of 
organising  a  thorough  system  of  observations  that  would 
command  the  attention  of  the  scientific  world  through  the 
magnitude  of  the  glass,  which  had  a  diameter  of  15  inches, 
and  a  focal  length  of  20  feet.  In  simultaneous  observations 
of  any  astronomical  event,  the  results  from  the  Downside  glass 
would  have  always  been  sought  for ;  it  would  have  been  a  train- 
ing in  science  for  the  whole  establishment,  since  interest  in,  and 
hence  knowledge  of  the  work,  could  not  fail  to  be  diffused  as  a 
part  of  the  esprit  de  corps.  Fate,  however,  relegated  such  day- 
dreams to  the  lumber-room  of  "  might-have-beens."  The  loss 
of  the  antiquities,  curiosities,  and  natural  history  collections 
in  the  museum  was  severely  felt ;  for  although  there  may  have 
been  much  rubbish  amongst  them,  there  were  also  many 
unique  and  valuable  specimens,  the  result  of  fifty  years' 
accumulation. 

In  1859  Prior  Sweeney,  who  had  succeeded  Dom  Peter 
Wilson  in  1854,  was  nominated  by  the  Holy  See  to  be  the  first 
Cathedral  Prior  of  Belmont,  near  Hereford,  and  in  his  place 
Dom  Cuthbert  Smith  was  elected  prior  of  St.  Gregory's. 
Besides  the  celebration  of  the  jubilee  and  the  erection  of  the 
observatory,  nothing  else  remarkable  occurred  in  the  history 
of  the  school  during  his  term  of  office.  In  1866  Prior  Smith 
was  appointed  Provincial  of  the  Province  of  Canterbury,  and 
Dom  Alphonsus  Morrall  took  his  place  at  Downside.  In 
the  short  time  during  which  he  held  the  reins  considerable 
activity  was  displayed  in  the  school,  both  in  working  up 
the  studies  and  in  organising  the  games.  The  connection 
with  the  London  University,  which  had  been  in  abeyance  for 

230 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

some  years,  was  resumed ;  candidates  passed  the  matricula- 
tion examination  with  success ;  for  the  first  time  a  Gregorian 
actually  living  in  the  house  took  the  degree  of  M.A.;  a  system 
of  honours  examination  in  extra  work  was  introduced.  During 
this  period  also  the  cricket  club  was  founded,  and  the  athletic 
sports  first  established.  The  prior  provided  a  separate  re- 
fectory for  the  community  by  removing  the  monastic  library 
into  the  old  study-room  (the  present  Petre  Library),  so  that 
the  boys  had  their  refectory  to  themselves,  and  the  so-called 
*'  North- West  Passage "  was  erected — an  addition  not  very 
artistic  but  very  convenient.  Unfortunately,  at  this  time  some 
of  the  masters  were  withdrawn  to  the  mission.  The  com- 
munity was  a  small  one,  and  in  the  consequent  weakening  of 
the  teaching  power  Prior  Morrall  applied  to  St.  Lawrence's, 
Ampleforth,  for  the  loan  of  a  professor  of  theology.  The  prior 
of  that  house  kindly  sent  Dom  Ildephonsus  Brown  to  assist. 
Prior  Morrall  resigned  in  October  1868,  and  Dom  Ildephonsus 
Brown  was  elected  in  his  stead  to  fill  the  office  till  the  general 
chapter  in  1870,  when  Dom  Bernard  Murphy  became  prior. 

The  additions  made  to  the  school  in  1823  and  in  1854  still 
proving  inadequate,  it  was  again  found  necessary  to  build. 
This  time  the  expansion  was  conceived  on  a  magnificent  scale. 
Mr.  Edward  Hansom,  an  old  Gregorian  and  son  of  the  archi- 
tect employed  in  1854,  was  entrusted  with  the  task  of  prepar- 
ing plans ;  and  in  conjunction  with  his  partner,  Mr.  Archibald 
Dunn,  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  a  scheme  was  evolved  extending 
the  buildings  westward,  but  leaving  intact  all  that  was  then 
standing.  It  was  not  proposed  to  realise  the  entire  plan  at 
once,  but  to  build  what  was  urgently  needed,  and  to  add 
the  rest  as  occasion  required.  The  plan  as  first  drawn  soon 
underwent  considerable  modifications. 

A  fine  block,  west  of  the  1854  building,  but  standing 
about  150  feet  north  of  it,  was  designed  to  comprise  a  large 
refectory  or  dining-hall  for  the  boys,  and  over  it  a  great,  open, 

231 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

lightsome  dormitory.     East  of  this  block  and  attached  to  it, 
was  a  well-appointed  kitchen,  with  dwelling-house  for  servants. 


DOWNSIDE   ABBEY   AND   THE    PETRE   CLOISTER 


Connecting  this  block  with  that  dating  from  1854  was 
planned  another,  comprising  a  cloister  and  various  rooms  : 
only  the  cloister,  however,  has  so  far  been  constructed.  At  a 
later  period,  good  temporary  class-rooms  were  erected  opening 

232 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

off  this  cloister  on  its  western  side,  and  on  the  other  side  a 
sanitary  block. 

It  was  determined  at  the  same  time  to  build  a  monastery  on 
approved  lines  quite  apart  from  the  school  buildings,  so  as  at 
length  to  secure  greater  privacy  for  the  monks.  This  building 
was  to  be  situated  at  right  angles  to  the  refectory  block,  but 
standing  north-west  relatively  to  it.  As  originally  planned, 
there  was  no  communication  between  the  monastery  and  the 
school  except  round  three  sides  of  a  quadrangle.  After  build- 
ing had  commenced,  the  obvious  inconvenience  of  this 
arrangement  became  manifest ;  so,  in  order  to  unite  the  two 
portions,  the  late  Right  Hon.  and  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  Lord 
Petre  most  generously  came  forward,  and  at  his  own  expense 
constructed  the  magnificent  cloister  which  now  bears  his  name. 
Few  cloisters,  probably,  surpass  it  in  the  beauty  of  its  exterior 
decoration,  the  elaborate  details  of  which  were  suggested,  if 
not  even  designed,  by  him.  The  delicate  wood-carving  in- 
tended by  him  to  ornament  the  interior  has  never  been  carried 
out ;  but  the  pitch-pine  ceiling  in  panels  is  sufficiently  effective. 
The  windows  are  nearly  all  filled  with  armorial  bearings  of  old 
Gregorians  in  stained  glass. 

The  families  thus  commemorated  are  those  of: — 

In  first  window :  Mostyn,  Walmesley,  Randolph,  Langdale. 

In  second  window  :  Ward,  Behan,  Fulton,  Wallace. 

In  third  window :  New,  Therry,  Bunbury,  Hansom. 

In  fourth  window  :  Gape,  O'Conor. 

In  fifth  window :  Hercy,  Plowden. 

In  sixth  window  :  Berkeley,  Rawlinson. 

In  seventh  window :  De  Paiva,  Walford,  Kelly,  Lynch. 

In  eighth  window :  Hammond,  Corney,  Hussey,  Campbell. 

In  ninth  window  :  Murphy,  Pinto  Basto,  Knight,  Bird. 

In  tenth  window :  Lawless,  Harting,  Barnewall,  McVeagh. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  work  taken  in  hand  by  Prior 
Murphy  comprised  three  distinct  portions ;  and  on  October  i , 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

1873,  the  foundation-stones  of  these  three  buildings  were 
solemnly  laid — the  first,  that  of  the  proposed  new  church, 
being  placed  by  the  late  Cardinal  Manning  (then  only  Arch- 
bishop of  Westminster) ;  the  second,  that  of  the  tower,  by  Dr. 
Clifford,  the  Bishop  of  Clifton,  assisted  by  his  chapter;  and 
the  third,  that  of  the  monastery,  by  Dr.  Brown,  the  Bishop  of 
Newport  and  Menevia,  assisted  by  the  Prior  and  Community  of 
St.  Gregory's.  Pontifical  high  mass  was  sung  by  the  Bishop 
of  the  Diocese,  in  presence  of  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of 
Westminster.  The  ceremony  of  laying  the  foundation-stones 
being  concluded,  the  guests  who  had  been  present  by  invita- 
tion, some  200  in  number,  repaired  to  the  "palace,"  and  were 
entertained  at  luncheon  by  Prior  Murphy. 

The  work  was  pushed  vigorously  forward,  and  the  monastery, 
together  with  the  refectory  block,  was  occupied  in  August 
1876. 

It  is  impossible,  by  mere  verbal  description,  to  do  justice  to 
the  excellence  of  the  proportions  of  the  baronial  dining-hall, 
which  may,  without  exaggeration,  be  said  to  vie  with  any  but 
the  very  best  of  the  college  halls  in  the  old  universities.  The 
room  is  75  feet  long  by  30  broad,  and  has  a  height  of  24  feet. 
It  is  panelled  in  carefully  selected  pitch  pine  to  a  height  of 
9  feet,  a  linen  pattern  being  introduced  into  each  panel  so  as 
to  break  the  surface.  The  ceiling  is  entirely  of  pitch  pine 
carried  on  immense  rafters,  supported  by  springers  which  rise 
from  stone  corbels  whereon  are  blazoned  the  arms  of  the 
twelve  ancient  Benedictine  cathedral-priories  of  England. 
The  windows  on  the  north  and  east  sides  are  filled  with  the 
armorial  bearings  of  old  Gregorians — the  Earl  of  Kenmare ; 
Lords  Petre,  Stourton,  De  Freyne,  and  Lovat;  and  the 
families  of  Throckmorton,  Wolseley,  Vaughan,  Tasker,  Horny- 
old,  Blount,  Cholmeley,  Smythe,  the  O'Conor  Don,  Selby, 
and  Ford.  On  the  south  side  are  two  doors  (one  a  fine 
entrance   with    double   valves)  flanking   a   handsome   carved 

234 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    ST.    GREGORY'S 

stone  fireplace.  Round  the  walls,  above  the  high  panelled 
wainscot,  are  hung  portraits  in  oil  of  Gregorian  worthies — 
martyrs,  bishops,  priors,  and  so  forth.  The  series  is,  of 
course,  not  complete ;  but  it  may  be  hoped  that  in  time  these 
omissions  in  a  complete  sequence  may  be  remedied.  The 
hall  is  lit  at  night  by  six  particularly  handsome  brass  chande- 
liers, the  choice  of  the  late  Lord  Petre. 

The  dormitory  above  calls  for  no  particular  description,  for 
though  it  is  a  fine  room  loo  feet  long  by  35  broad,  it  merely 
follows  the  lines  of  similar  apartments  in  most  well-appointed 
schools. 

It  was  during  this  time,  when  all  at  Downside  were  straining 
every  nerve  to  push  on  these  buildings,  that  one  destined  to 
have  immense  influence,  linked  his  life  and  his  interests  with 
those  of  St.  Gregory's  for  three  or  four  years.  All  who  knew 
the  Downside  of  those  days  will  recognise  that  the  late  Lord 
Petre  is  referred  to.  His  name  will  long  be  remembered  at 
Downside ;  for  his  benefactions,  numerous,  costly,  generous,  and 
artistic,  have  substantially  helped  to  make  St.  Gregory's  what  it 
is.  Beyond  these  material  gifts,  the  part  he  played  in  aiding 
to  modernise  systems  of  school  management,  which  has  influ- 
enced all  Catholic  schools,  was  the  outcome  of  experiments 
first  made  at  Downside,  and  further  tested  by  him  at  his 
own  establishment  at  Woburn  Park,  and  for  a  short  period 
subsequently  at  Northwood  in  the  Isle  of  Wight. 

William  Joseph  Petre  was  the  second  child,  but  eldest  son, 
of  William  Bernard,  Lord  Petre,  twelfth  Baron  of  Writtle,  and 
his  wife  Mary  Theresa,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Charles  Thomas 
Clifford,  of  Irnham  in  Lancashire,  Esq.,  and  niece  of  the  then 
Lord  Clifford.  He  was  born  on  February  26,  1847.  In  his 
tenth  year  he  was  placed  at  Hodder,  whence  he  was  moved 
into  the  lower  line  at  Stonyhurst  College.  In  his  thirteenth 
year,  however,  he  was  transferred  to  Downside,  which  he 
entered  on  October  3,  i860.     In  1864  he  was  elected  to  the 

235 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

highest  position  open  to  a  schoolboy  at  Downside— that  of 
king  of  St.  Gregory's  Court.  His  reign  was  marked  as  one 
of  exceptional  grandeur.  He  left  the  school  in  July  1866. 
After  spending  a  year  or  so  amongst  the  philosophers  at 
Stonyhurst  and  at  Oscott,  he  travelled  much,  but  could  not 
finally  determine  on  a  choice  for  his  career  in  life  till  Septem- 
ber 1872,  when  he  studied  for  the  ecclesiastical  state  at 
Belmont  under  Prior  Vaughan,  till  the  latter's  consecration 
as  coadjutor  to  Dr.  Folding,  Archbishop  of  Sydney,  New 
South  Wales,  in  February  1873.  Then  he  went  to  St. 
Beuno's  in  North  Wales  to  continue  his  studies  for  the 
priesthood,  in  company  with  the  Jesuits  there  prosecuting 
their  own  ecclesiastical  studies.  On  Trinity-eve,  May 
30,  1874,  he  was  ordained  priest  by  the  late  Cardinal 
Manning.  The  following  day  he  celebrated  his  first  mass 
at  Farm  Street  Church  in  the  presence  of  his  family,  and  then 
went  straight  on  to  Downside,  where  he  said  his  second  mass. 
Between  this  time  and  September  he  was  frequently,  if  not 
mostly,  at  Downside,  but  also  made  a  visit  or  two  of  some 
length  to  Ampleforth  and  to  Belmont.  In  September  1874 
he  came  into  residence  at  St.  Gregory's,  and  here  he  remained 
till  the  July  of  1877,  continuing  his  study  of  the  science,  and 
also  exercising  himself  in  the  art  of  education.  The  position 
he  held  was  certainly  anomalous,  but  on  the  whole  it  worked 
well,  and  was  decidedly  beneficial  to  Downside.  He  was  the 
means  of  securing  an  increase  in  the  number  of  boys,  and 
threw  himself  with  such  vigour  and  enthusiasm  into  the 
sphere  of  work  allotted  to  him,  that  his  energy  inspired,  if  it 
did  not  almost  coerce,  others.  Lord  Petre's  energy  was  that 
of  the  novice  feeling  his  way ;  but  it  was  infectious,  and  caught 
hold  of  those  whose  lives  had  been  spent  in  the  toil  of  teach- 
ing, infusing  fresh  life,  so  that  his  coming  may  be  truly  said  to 
have  marked  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Alma  Mater.  The 
responsible  authorities  recognised  that  he  was  effecting  real 

236 


DEVELOPMENT   OF    ST.   GREGORY'S 

good,  hence  he  remained  so  long  at  St.  Gregory's.  During 
those  years  he  held  no  official  position,  but  was  a  trusted 
adviser  on  school  affairs.  He  was  allowed  liberal  scope,  and 
he  fully  availed  himself  of  it,  and  in  his  intercourse  with  the 
elder  boys  won  their  entire  confidence,  and  exercised  consider- 
able influence  on  them  and  their  characters.  His  bent  in 
teaching  was  towards  English  literature,  composition,  and 
history,  and  in  these  branches  a  wide  reading  and  an  artistic 
appreciation  of  the  beautiful  greatly  enhanced  the  value  of  his 
lectures  to  the  boys.  In  connection  with  these  efforts  to  raise 
their  appreciation  of  culture,  may  be  mentioned  the  resuscita- 
tion by  him  of  the  boys'  debating  society,  which  had  been  in 
abeyance  for  five  or  six  years.  He  did  much,  also,  for  the 
theatricals,  and  added  largely  to  the  stage  wardrobe.  His  con- 
nection with  the  Petre  Library  and  the  Swimming  Bath  will 
receive  separate  and  detailed  mention.  To  complete  this  short 
sketch  of  the  late  Lord  Petre's  life,  it  should  be  stated  that  in 
September  1877  he  commenced  a  school  at  Woburn  Park, 
Weybridge,  where  he  determined  to  carry  out  all  those  prin- 
ciples which  had  been  taking  definite  shape  in  his  mind  while 
at  Downside.  To  aid  him  in  his  venture,  he  had  secured  for 
a  time  the  help  of  Dom  Anselm  Burge  from  Ampleforth,  and 
later,  for  a  short  period,  that  of  Dom  Bede  Cox  from  Down- 
side. He  maintained  this  school  till  1884  with  varying  success, 
and  then  sold  it  to  the  Josephites.  Almost  immediately  after, 
he  succeeded  to  the  title,  and  with  it  the  possession  of  the 
family  estates,  and  as  a  consequence  of  this  increased  command 
of  funds,  opened  another  school  at  Northwood  in  the  Isle 
of  Wight ;  but  his  health  broke  down,  and  after  some  years' 
struggle  against  failing  strength,  this  great  benefactor  to  St. 
Gregory's  died  on  May  8,  1893. 

Dom  Bernard  Murphy  made  way  in  1878  for  Dom  Aidan 
Gasquet  (now  Abbot-President  of  the  English  Benedictine 
congregation),  and  during  his  seven  years'  tenure  of  the  prior- 

237 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

ship  the  numbers  in  the  school  reached  loo  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  St.  Gregory's.  During  Dom  Gasquet's 
term  of  office  a  new  impetus  was  given  to  the  studies  by  the 
employment  of  lay  masters  to  help  the  staff  of  monks ;  and  a 
revival  of  the  former  successes  gained  by  Gregorians  at  the 
London  University  was  the  result.  During  a  portion  of  these 
years  Downside  greatly  benefited  by  the  presence  of  that  ripe 
classical  scholar,  the  late  Professor  John  Fletcher  Davis,  M.A., 
and  gold  medallist  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  who  only  left 
Downside  to  become  Professor  of  Latin  at  Queen's  College, 
Galway. 

It  was  recognised  that  comparison  with  others  is  the  surest 
test  of  efficiency,  and  from  time  to  time  many  experiments 
have  been  made  by  sending  up  boys  for  external  examinations. 
It  may  be  better  to  gather  together  in  one  survey  the  various 
steps  whereby  these  external  tests  have  been  introduced, 
though  they  do  not  all  belong  to  this  priorship ;  they  were, 
however,  the  development  of  the  policy  then  initiated,  and 
may  properly  be  referred  to  their  true  period  of  inauguration. 
The  London  matriculation  stands  by  itself,  and,  of  course,  goes 
back  to  the  year  1840.  The  higher  examinations  for  the 
degrees  of  the  same  university  belong  also  to  earlier  years ; 
but  no  other  test  had  hitherto  been  resorted  to.  Under  Dom 
Gasquet  the  Oxford  University  senior  and  junior  local 
examinations  were  added  for  the  middle  forms  of  the  school. 
A  system  of  weekly  tests  in  some  specified  subject  was 
adopted,  and  thereby  a  constant  watch  can  be  kept  on  the 
progress  of  the  studies  in  every  branch,  and  as  a  general  result 
the  level  of  scholarship  has  been  raised.  In  two  successive 
years  Professor  Magnus  was  invited  to  examine  the  whole 
school  and  report  on  the  results.  His  verdict  was  gratify- 
ing to  all  concerned.  It  was,  moreover,  decided  that,  to 
obviate  the  disadvantages  of  selecting  only  the  best  boys  for 
the   public   examinations,    the   forms   were   to    be   presented 

238 


THE   NORTH   TRANSEPT 

[The  temporcDj  Sanctuary  and  High  Altar  oj  the  New  Church) 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

en  /^/(?^  for .  examination.  This  system  ensures  proper  justice 
being  done  to  every  member  of  the  forms  thus  tested,  though 
possibly  it  may  not  furnish  so  high  a  percentage  of  successes 
as  would  a  judicious  process  of  selection  of  candidates. 

During  these  seven  years,  too,  many  improvements  were 
effected  in  the  dietary  of  the  boys.  In  this  connection,  it  may 
be  permitted  to  mention  that,  at  a  later  period,  when  the 
resources  of  the  kitchen-garden  were  made  to  furnish  many  more 
varieties  of  vegetables  than  had  hitherto  been  the  case,  the 
gardener  complained  on  one  occasion  that  the  boys  no  longer 
cared  for  the-  succulent  cabbage  (common  or  garden  variety), 
now  that,  as  he  expressed  it,  they  were  so  plentifully  provided 
with  the  "higher  vegetables." 

As  a  sign  of  material  progress,  new  class-rooms  were  added, 
a  steam  laundry  fitted  up,  a  portion  of  the  new  monastery 
raised  two  storeys,  but  above  all,  work  on  the  new  church  was 
commenced  in  the  summer  of  1880 ;  and  by  Tuesday,  July  11, 
1882,  the  transepts,  which  alone  had  been  taken  in  hand  to- 
gether with  the  tower,  were  ready  for  opening.  On  the  previ- 
ous Sunday,  July  9,  a  solemn  adieu  was  made  to  the  devotional 
old  chapel.  Pontifical  mass  and  vespers  were  sung  there  by 
an  old  Gregorian,  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Riddell,  Bishop  of 
Northampton ;  and  the  farewell  sermon  was  preached  by  one 
of  the  most  honoured  sons  of  St.  Gregory's — Dom  Wilfrid 
Raynal  (then  Cathedral-Prior  of  St.  Michael's,  Eelmont,  near 
Hereford ;  now  titular  Abbot  of  St.  Alban's).  He  expressed 
what  was  felt  by  all,  that  in  spite  of  the  sadness  which  would 
arise  at  parting  with  what  was  venerable  and  beloved  for  so 
many  happy  and  hallowed  memories,  there  was  the  strong 
hope  of  a  great  and  glorious  future.  On  the  evening  of  next 
day  the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  borne  in  solemn  procession 
from  beneath  the  humble  roof,  which  was  as  the  dwelling  of 
skins  of  the  tabernacle  of  old,  to  the  new  and  great  temple 
which  was  henceforth  to  be  its  more  fitting  abode.     As  the 

239 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

new  church  was  entered,  the  Te  Deum  arose  from  every 
throat — a  glorious  song  of  triumph.  Vespers  for  the  feast  of 
St.  Benedict  followed.  On  the  nth,  pontifical  high  mass  was 
sung  by  Dr.  Clifford,  in  the  presence  of  four  or  five  bishops 
and  three  abbots  in  cope  and  mitre,  several  minor  prelates,  a 
great  gathering  of  clergy  secular  and  regular,  and  a  very  large 
concourse  of  lay  visitors.  The  harmonised  Gregorian  chant 
produced  a  marvellous  effect.  The  sermon  was  preached  by 
one  who  owned  St.  Gregory's  as  his  Alma  Mater,  Dr.  Ulla- 
thorne,  the  venerable  Bishop  of  Birmingham.  The  collection 
which  was  made  for  the  church  amounted  to  ;^68o.  More 
than  300  persons  sat  down  to  lunch  in  the  great  dining-hall. 
Dr.  Clifford,  in  one  of  his  genial  and  friendly  speeches,  propos- 
ing the  toast  of  "  the  church  and  monastery  of  St.  Gregory's," 
said  that  after  the  services  held  in  the  new  church  during  the 
past  two  days,  the  idea  which  presented  itself  to  his  mind,  and 
which  would,  he  thought,  be  the  opinion  of  others,  was  cer- 
tainly this — that  the  building  in  which  they  had  assembled, 
though  only  partially  completed,  was  the  beginning  of  an 
abbey  church.  Prophetic  words,  destined  to  be  fulfilled  in  a 
couple  of  decades  !  The  great  day  closed  with  pontifical  ves- 
pers and  benediction. 

This  auspicious  event  had  been  preceded,  in  April  1880,  by 
the  celebration  of  the  fourteenth  centenary  of  the  birth  of  St. 
Benedict.  The  occasion  was  observed  by  solemn  and  impres- 
sive ceremonies,  which  do  not  call  for  further  description  here  ; 
but  as  a  memorial  of  the  festival,  an  avenue  of  lime  trees  was 
planted  between  the  "  Black  Lane  "  and  the  monastery.  The 
trees  took  many  years  to  strike  root  properly ;  but  at  length 
they  have  begun  to  grow  apace,  and  will  add  greatly  to  the 
beauty  of  the  school  grounds.  There  was  also  published  a 
Sketch  of  the  Life  and  Mission  of  St.  Benedict^  written  by  Prior 
Gasquet ;  and  a  cantata  was  sung,  composed  for  the  occasion 
by  the  late  Dom  Bruno  Kengelbacher. 

240 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

Ill-health  compelled   Dom  Gasquet's  resignation   in    1885, 


:^E^ 


////ii 


PATH    LEADING    FROM    THE    PLAYGROUND   TO   THE    BATHING    POND 


and  during  a  prolonged  period  of  medical  treatment  in  London, 
he  commenced  those  historical  studies  and  researches  which 

241  Q 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

have  resulted  in  giving  him  the  position  he  now  so  justly  holds 
in  the  literary  world.  His  place  at  Downside  was  taken  by 
Dom  Edmund  Ford,  whose  term  of  office  lasting  only  three 
years  was  nevertheless  marked  by  signal  progress.  More 
work  was  accomplished  on  the  church,  several  chapels  being 
added  at  the  east  or  chancel  end  of  the  future  choir  ;  new  gas- 
works were  constructed,  water-works  on  an  elaborate  scale  in- 
augurated, and  other  similar  improvements  effected.  As  more 
nearly  affecting  the  boys  in  their  daily  life,  however,  may  be 
mentioned  the  laying  out  of  a  good  level  cricket-field  of  ex- 
tensive dimensions,  which  till  then  had  been  much  needed. 

Certain  domestic  incidents  particularly  affecting  the  school 
should  here  be  chronicled.  At  the  time  of  the  Parliamentary 
general  elections  held  in  the  autumn  of  1885,  riots  took  place 
at  Radstock,  and  were  expected  to  break  out  at  Midsomer 
Norton  on  polling  day.  A  large  force  of  police  was  drafted 
into  Norton,  shewing  that  the  district  authorities  entertained 
grave  fears  for  the  public  peace.     As  dire  threats  of  special 

vengeance  at  the  expense  of  the  " papists "  had  been 

made,  every  precaution  dictated  by  prudence  was  taken  against 
any  attempted  attack  by  rioters ;  for,  infuriated  as  they  were  by 
strong  partisan  feeling  and  bigotry,  it  was  feared  that  perhaps 
some  of  the  more  violent  of  the  "  free  and  independent  elec- 
tors "  might  attack  the  monastery  and  school.  The  stained- 
glass  windows  of  the  church  were  therefore  either  boarded  up 
or  shrouded  with  tarpaulins,  for  there  happened  to  be  close  by 
a  great  heap  of  stones  ready  broken  for  road-mending  pur- 
poses, which  would  have  come  in  handy  for  window-smashing. 
Twenty  "  special  constables "  were  sworn  in,  including  em- 
ployees, lay  masters,  and  stalwart  sixth-form  boys.  This  force 
undertook  the  preservation  of  peace  and  property  throughout 
Stratton.  Every  "  man  "  was  armed  with  a  truncheon.  The 
corps  was  drilled  and  instructed  in  approved  police  tactics  for 
such   mob  emergencies,  and  was  divided  into  three  sections, 

242 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

which  relieved  one  another  in  the  duty  of  night  patrolling. 
An  officer  in  charge  of  each  section  visited  the  patrols,  "  com- 
municating circumstances,"  while  a  mounted  messenger  was 
stationed  in  Norton  ready  to  bring  the  first  tidings  of  the 
advance  of  the  rioters.  The  fire-engine  was  kept  in  readiness 
to  pour  water  on  man  or  flame.  In  case  of  an  attack,  the 
reserve,  consisting  of  the  monks  and  picked  boys,  was  to  be 
-called  out  by  the  tolling  of  the  great  bell.  Our  preparations 
for  giving  the  rioters  a  warm  reception  got  wind,  and  with 
commendable  discretion  they  refrained  from  trying  conclusions 
with  us,  though  it  is  said  they  had  gathered  for  the  purpose  to 
the  number  of  two  or  three  hundred.  The  affair  fizzled  out 
like  a  damp  squib ;  but  the  fear  of  attack  was  real  and  well- 
grounded,  and  the  circumstances  connected  with  it  are  worthy 
of  record,  and  might  furnish  a  Thackeray  with  the  subject  of 
an  epic  poem. 

A  break  with  the  past  was  effected  by  the  abolition  of  the 
ancient  class  nomenclature  of  rhetoric,  poetry,  higher  and 
lower  syntax,  elements,  and  preparatory  classes.  There  was 
in  addition  the  title  of  "philosophers,"  which  continues  to  be 
used  to  designate  those  boys  who,  having  matriculated,  remain 
.at  Downside  to  prepare  for  the  intermediate  in  arts  and  the 
B.A.  examinations  of  the  London  University.  It  survived, 
perhaps  on  the  principle  of  Punches  professional  who  wondered 
what  else  you  could  call  a  "  yorker."  What  else  could  these 
youths  be  called  ?  The  class  of  rhetoric,  or  the  matriculation 
class,  became  the  sixth  form,  poetry  the  fifth,  the  two  syntaxes 
the  upper  and  lower  fourth,  and  so  on ;  thus  the  public  school 
terminology  was  substituted  for  our  former  names.  "The 
reasons  for  the  change  were  many ;  the  names  had  ceased  to 
represent  adequately  the  character  of  the  work  of  the  different 
<:lasses ;  they  conveyed  no  idea  whatever  to  outsiders ;  they 
were  used  in  completely  different  senses  at  various  Catholic 
schools ;  and  therefore,  in  order  to  secure  a  better  standard  of 

243 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

comparison,  it  was  resolved  that  so  misleading  a  nomenclature 
should  be  abandoned.  It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  the 
class  names  thus  abandoned  could  boast  of  considerable  anti- 
quity, being  in  common  use  in  all  the  Catholic  schools  estab- 
lished abroad.  We  read  of  rhetoric,  poetry,  and  syntax 
classes  at  St.  Gregory's,  Douay,  as  early  as  1685  ;  and  in 
1725  mention  is  made  of  those  of  grammar,  figures,  and 
accidence. 

In  1887  Downside  joined  the  rest  of  the  British  Empire  in 
a  loyal  celebration  of  the  golden  jubilee  of  her  late  gracious 
Majesty's  reign.  There  was  a  cricket  match  to  fill  the  day. 
Visitors  from  all  the  neighbouring  villages  wandered  through 
the  buildings,  which  had  been  thrown  open  to  them,  admir- 
ing the  libraries,  rooms,  museum,  and,  in  fact,  everything  they 
were  shewn  and  expected  to  admire.  A  dinner  was  given  to 
the  tenants  and  workmen  of  the  estate,  at  which  the  usual 
loyal  toasts  were  proposed  and  duly  honoured  with  the  utmost 
enthusiasm.  At  6  p.m.  all  assembled  in  the  church  for  bene- 
diction, during  which  the  Te  Detwi  and  Doniine  saiva?n  fac 
were  sung.  1  )inner  followed,  and  the  proposal  of  the  great 
toast,  "  The  Queen  :  God  bless  her  I "  was  many  times  inter- 
rupted by  bursts  of  loyal  cheering.  After  dinner  there  was  a 
varied  entertainment  in  the  "palace."  The  room  had  never 
been  so  crowded,  hundreds  being  unable  to  gain  admission, 
and  eight  or  ten  huge  props  were  put  up  in  the  study-room 
below,  lest  the  weight  of  people  above  might  prove  too  severe 
a  strain  upon  the  floor  beams.  Shortly  before  10  p.m.  all 
repaired  to  Mogg  Hill  for  the  lighting  of  the  monster  bonfire. 
The  church  tower,  standing  as  it  does  on  a  spur  of  the 
Mendips,  and  reaching,  even  in  its  unfinished  state,  a  height 
of  120  feet,  is  a  conspicuous  object  for  many  miles  around; 
and  according  to  the  national  arrangement,  it  was  selected  as 
one  of  the  points  whence  the  central  fire  of  Malvern  was  to  be 
received  and  flashed  on  to  the  south-west.    As  10  p.m.  struck, 

244 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

the  Lansdowne  beacon,  some  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  away, 
handed  on  the  signal  from  the  north  to  us,  and  no  sooner  had 
our  shower  of  rockets  responded  than  some  forty  bonfires  lit  up 
in  half  as  many  seconds  all  around.  The  sight  was  one  never 
to  be  forgotten.  Our  beacon  fire  was  set  alight  and  blazed  up 
rapidly.  It  had  been  most  scientifically  constructed,  and  rose 
to  the  height  of  34  feet,  surmounted  by  a  barrel  of  tar,  the 
whole  crowned  by  the  Union  Jack.  Draught  holes  had  been 
made  open  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  wind  and  a  straight 
funnel  up  the  centre,  with  the  result  that  the  faggots,  of  which 
it  had  been  entirely  composed,  and  which  had  also  been  satu- 
rated with  oil,  blazed  up  in  a  mighty  flame.  The  National 
Anthem  was  sung  again  and  again ;  cheers  were  repeatedly 
raised,  and  a  variety  of  fireworks  displayed,  till  midnight 
brought  to  a  close  the  worthy  celebration  of  a  great  event. 

The  following  summer,  1888,  saw  the  retirement  of  Prior 
Ford ;  but  his  successor,  Dom  Clement  Fowler,  did  not  enter 
into  office  till  December.  During  this  unavoidable  interreg- 
num, Dom  Bernard  Murphy  was  appointed  to  act  as  superior. 
Prior  Fowler's  six  years  of  office  were  marked  by  a  radical 
alteration  in  the  administration  of  the  school,  necessitated  by 
the  Holy  See  placing  the  missions  under  the  government  of 
the  priors  of  the  monasteries.  This  change  took  place  in 
1 89 1,  and  the  additional  burthen  and  responsibility  made  it 
desirable  to  appoint  a  delegate  to  w^hom  should  be  committed 
the  complete  management  of  the  school,  thus  leaving  the  prior 
free  to  attend  to  the  government  of  the  monastery  and  its 
dependent  missions.  The  functions  of  this  newly  created  ap- 
pointment had  to  be  carved  out  of  several  existing  offices,  each 
exercising  certain  duties  claiming  a  prescriptive  sanction  of 
centuries.  The  adjustment  of  these,  like  the  working  of  a  new 
machine,  required  time ;  but  ere  long,  the  office  of  "  rector," 
now  exchanged  for  the  term  "head-master,"  fitted  in  smoothly 
with  others  of  longer  standing. 

245 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

During  Prior  Fowler's  term  of  office  some  additions  to  the 
fabric  of  the  church  were  made,  and  a  long-promised  cricket 
pavilion  was  erected,  which  proved  not  only  useful,  but  also  a 
graceful  ornament  to  an  already  pretty  scene. 

In  1894  Dom  Fowler  resigned  the  priorship  and  was 
succeeded  by  Dom  Edmund  Ford,  who  had  preceded  him 
in  that  office,  and  still  presides  over  St.  Gregory's,  though 
his  title  has  been  increased  in  dignity,  being  now  that  of 
abbot. 

Of  recent  years  the  most  important  event  as  regards  St. 
Gregory's  school  is  the  permission  that  has  been  granted  for 
Catholics  to  go  to  the  old  universities.  The  removal  of  former 
ecclesiastical  restrictions  having  thus  opened  the  way  for  Catho- 
lics to  obtain  degrees  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  has  naturally 
been  to  sever  Downside's  long  connection  with  the  University 
of  London,  so  that  all  energies  may  be  concentrated  on  the 
higher  certificate  examinations  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
Joint  Boards,  and  the  Oxford  senior  and  junior  locals,  thus 
bringing  the  work  done  at  Downside  as  nearly  as  possible  into 
line  with  that  of  the  great  public  schools,  and  directly  pre- 
paring the  boys  of  St.  Gregory's  school  to  enter  the  old  uni- 
versities. In  order  to  keep  abreast  of  the  requirements  made 
necessary  by  this  valuable  and  important  concession,  a  resi- 
dence was  opened  at  Cambridge  to  enable  some  of  the  younger 
Downside  monks  to  follow  the  university  courses.  This  return 
to  pre- Reformation  practice  has  already  been  crowned  with 
excellent  results ;  and  the  foresight  which  anticipated  the 
provisions  of  the  Bill  regulating  secondary  education  will^ 
when  they  come  into  force,  find  Downside  equal  to  the 
obligations  therein  imposed  upon  teaching  bodies.  It  is 
extremely  gratifying  to  be  able  to  record  that  the  university 
authorities  extended  a  warm  welcome  to  the  sons  of  St. 
Benedict,  and  this  resumption  of  their  ancient  connection 
with    the  old    universities   will  work  nothing  but   good,   and 

246 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S 

must  assuredly  mark  Abbot  Ford's  administration  in  a  special 
and  peculiar  way. 

Since  the  erection  of  the  refectory  block  the  monks  had 
been  accustomed  to  share  the  use  of  the  dining-hall  with 
the  boys.  Originally  a  temporary  arrangement,  it  had  lasted 
a  quarter  of  a  century ;  but  the  late  Right  Rev.  Mgr. 
Weld,  an  old  Gregorian,  and  a  devoted  friend  to  Downside, 
undertook  to  defray  a  portion  of  the  cost  of  a  separate 
refectory  for  the  community,  and  also  of  the  east  cloister 
leading  direct  from  the  boys'  quarters  to  the  church.  Both 
these  additions  were  made  for  the  purpose  of  securing  to 
the  monks  a  greater  degree  of  privacy  and  seclusion,  and 
were  ready  for  use  in  1897.  The  east  cloister  is  to  have 
all  its  windows  filled  with  the  armorial  bearings  of  past 
Gregorians;  at  present  but  one  light  is  occupied  with  the 
coat-of-arms  of  the  Langton  family.  On  September  26, 
1898,  our  generous  benefactor,  Mgr.  Weld,  died  while  on  a 
visit  to  France.  In  his  earher  years  he  had  tried  to  enter 
the  religious  state,  but  found  it  was  not  his  vocation ;  al- 
though his  lot  in  life  was  cast  elsewhere,  his  heart  was  at 
Downside.  His  last  wish,  which  was  fulfilled,  was  that  he 
might  be  buried  there,  at  a  spot,  as  he  said,  that  he  never 
heard  mentioned  without  experiencing  a  thrill  of  pleasure 
and  emotion.  He  left  the  residue  of  his  property  to  Down- 
side on  the  express  stipulation  that  it  should  be  employed 
over  the  completion  of  the  monastery.  This  work  was  at 
once  commenced,  and  the  west  wing  was  carried  to  its  full 
height,  while  other  needed  additions  were  carried  out.  It 
now  remains  that  the  energies  of  all  at  Downside  be  directed 
towards  completing  the  great  abbey  church,  and  also  to- 
wards the  erection  of  additional  school  buildings  to  meet 
the  increasing  number  of  boys  and  the  exactions  of  modern 
requirements. 

The  latest  event,  and   no  mean  one,  in  the  long  history 

247 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

of  St.  Gregory's  fitly  concludes  this  narrative.  The  Holy 
Father,  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  as  a  mark  of  his  esteem  for  the 
venerable  English  Benedictine  congregation,  and  as  a  sign 
of  his  appreciation  of  the  work  done  by  it  in  the  past, 
graciously  deigned,  propria  motu,  to  raise  the  three  ancient 
houses  of  St.  Gregory's,  St.  Lawrence's,  and  St.  Edmund's 
to  the  rank  and  dignity  of  abbeys,  with  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  thereto  pertaining,  by  a  bull  dated  June  29, 
1899.  In  this  document,  to  be  henceforth  known  by  its 
opening  words,  Diu  quidem,  the  Holy  Father  recalls  the 
truly  affectionate  personal  solicitude  so  long  shewn  by  him 
for  the  welfare,  the  honour,  and,  indeed,  as  he  says,  the 
safety  of  the  venerable  English  Benedictine  congregation, 
which,  for  ages  identified  with  the  national  life,  has,  under 
the  pressure  of  every  kind  of  difficulty  and  distress,  weathered 
the  storms  of  thirteen  centuries  and  the  persecutions  of  later 
ages.  In  recording  these  facts,  it  is  no  small  gratification  to 
be  able  to  look  back  on  a  past  of  well-nigh  three  hundred 
years,  a  period  of  trial  and  testing  which  affords  evidence  of 
zealous,  devoted,  persevering,  and  sometimes  heroic  work,  in 
circumstances  that  might  well  have  damped  the  energies  of 
men  less  single  minded  and  sincere  than  our  forefathers.  It 
was  in  recognition  of  this  long  past  that  the  Holy  Father 
conferred  this  honour  upon  Downside,  thus  emphasising  once 
more  the  identity  of  the  present  English  congregation  with 
that  existing  in  England  before  the  Reformation  —  a  fact 
on  which  he,  no  less  than  his  predecessors,  Paul  V.  and 
Urban  VIII.,  had  already  insisted. 

The  work  of  the  present  and  of  the  future  can,  more  effec- 
tually than  any  other  way  or  any  words,  shew  the  sense 
entertained  by  the  English  Benedictines  of  the  gracious 
interest  which,  amidst  all  the  cares  of  the  universal  Church, 
Pope  Leo  XIII.  has  manifested  in  them.  It  is  perhaps  a 
matter  that  might  seem  to  concern  the  monks  of  St.  Gregory 

248 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   ST.    GREGORY'S 

exclusively ;  but  St.  Gregory's  school  is,  as  it  has  ever  been, 
inseparable  from  the  monastery — both  together  make  one 
indivisible  unit ;  and,  as  Cardinal  Vaughan  bade  the  monks 
remember,  on  the  occasion  of  the  blessing  of  the  lady  chapel 
at  Downside  on  the  feast  of  St.  Benedict  in  July  1888,  the 
labours  the  Benedictines  have  in  hand,  of  whatsoever  kind  they 
may  be,  are  all  of  them  works  that  have  to  be  done,  not  for 
themselves,  but  for  the  laity  of  England. 


249 


CHAPTER   VIII 

INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND   GAMES 

Recreation  days — Prefect's  feast — Court  of  St.  Gregory's — List  of  kings — 
Sodality  of  B.  V.  M. — Theatricals — Music — Swimming  bath — Museum 
—  Petre  library — Journalism — Debating  society— Gregorian  society — 
Gregorian  medallists  —  Day  medallists — Gregorian  annual  dinner — 
"  Tucks  " — "  Longleat  " — Kire  brigade — "  Club  day  " — Cricket — Bat- 
and-ball  —  Football  —  Minor  games  —  Athletic  sports  and  records 
made — Senior  and  junior  harriers'  club  —  Photography  and  school 
photographs — Captains  of  the  school. 

Something  more  than  a  chronicle  of  names  and  occurrences 
and  dates  is  required,  if  the  inner  and  real  life  of  an  institu- 
tion is  to  be  unfolded,  and  its  spirit  understood.  A  canvas 
may  give  a  graphic  presentment  of  a  scene,  but  a  living  picture 
more  vividly  impresses  the  details  that  make  up  the  whole. 
The  fidelity  of  a  photograph  cannot  be  gainsaid,  but  it  pre- 
sents its  subject  at  one  given  instant  and  in  one  fixed  position. 
The  cinematograph  goes  further,  and  portrays  for  us  in  the 
procession  of  movement  the  whole  of  a  series  of  incidents, 
which  together  make  up  in  the  concrete  whole  the  scene  at 
which  we  desire,  though  absent,  to  assist ;  the  past  which  we 
can  at  will  recall. 

And  so  in  Downside  school  life  recourse  must  be  had  to  a 
series  of  pictures,  which  may  serve  to  fix  the  past  and  make  it 
live  again  before  our  eyes.  These  pictures  will  necessarily  have 
but  slight  connection  one  with  another.  But  not  wholly  so ; 
for  though,  taken  all  together,  they  form  one  distinct  picture 

250 


INSTITUTIONS,   CUSTOMS,   AND   GAMES 

no  part  is  useless  by  itself.  Rather,  each  may  be  likened  to 
one  of  the  hundreds  of  distinct  and  separate  pictures  which 
together  make  up  a  cinematographic  film.  Each  is  complete 
by  itself;  but  all  combined  furnish  one  homogeneous,  entire, 
moving,  living  presentment  of  schoolboy  life  at  St.  Gregory's. 

Recreation  Days 

The  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  has  witnessed 
havoc  among  old  institutions  and  customs  in  the  school  life 
of  Downside.  Modern  developments  have  crushed  the  majo- 
rity of  them  out  of  existence.  "  Their  end  was  inevitable,  and 
for  the  most  part  a  happy  release.  Too  old-fashioned  to  be 
any  longer  beneficial,  they  have  at  all  events  been  spared  the 
humiliation  of  useless  existence.  The  remoteness  of  their 
origin,  their  associations,  their  long  service,  pleaded  for  senti- 
mental consideration  and  preservation,  but  death  was  deemed 
more  merciful  than  unnatural  hfe.  Utility  must  decide  the 
fate  of  all  customs  and  institutions ;  still,  necessity  of  extinc- 
tiomvill  not  and  need  not  banish  regret.  For  many  years, 
even  for  centuries,  some  institutions  at  St,  Gregory's  had  done 
their  work  in  a  quiet,  unpretentious  way,  held  honoured  place, 
seemed  destined  to  die  only  with  Alma  Mater,  so  entwined 
with  her  life  had  they  become.  But  as  this  was  not  to  be, 
death  from  senile  decay  need  not  cut  them  off  from  grateful 
memory  nor  the  honour  of  a  humble  epitaph." 

Longer  and  more  frequent  vacations  are  not  compatible 
with  many  "days  off"  during  term  time,  if  the  all-important 
studies  are  to  receive  the  care  and  time  which  parents  nowa- 
days expect ;  for,  everywhere,  studies  are  worked  at  higher 
pressure  now  than  they  were  thirty  years  ago.  Longer  and 
more  frequent  vacations  have  been  found  necessary,  and  the 
only  alternative  was  to  reduce  as  much  as  possible  the  number 
of  holidays  at  school.  The  new  order  has  obvious  advantages. 
All  the  benefits  of  school  life  are  secured  with  less  loss  of  the 

251 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

delicate,  more  refining  influences  of  home  life.  It  has  thus 
come  about  that  "  First  Thursdays  " — in  the  strict  acceptance 
of  the  term — are  a  thing  of  the  past,  although  the  name  will 
certainly  endure  and  connote  what,  though  it  has  ceased,  in 
fact,  to  exist,  yet  continues  in  another  form. 

A  "  First  Thursday "  was  the  whole  play-day  granted  on 
the  first  Thursday  of  each  month.  Outsiders  must  master 
this  definition  and  beware  of  spurious  imitations  masquerad- 
ing under  the  same  name,  whose  recurrence  on  Mondays  and 
other  days  of  the  week  indiscriminately,  is  apt  to  engender  con- 
fusion in  the  minds  of  the  uninitiated.  Downside  boasted 
of  two  kinds  of  play-days — a  "  whole  play-day  "  and  a  "  First 
Thursday."  On  a  "whole  play-day"  play  commenced  at 
lo  A.M.,  and  till  that  hour  the  usual  routine  of  a  study- 
day  was  followed,  and  there  were  studies  in  the  evening 
from  5.30  to  7.  On  "First  Thursdays"  the  boys  rose  later, 
had  half-an-hour's  spiritual  reading  after  morning  prayers,  or 
after  breakfast,  and  no  studies  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  It 
follows  that  when  extra  play  was  being  granted  for  any  special 
reason,  a  careful  distinction  had  to  be  made  as  to  whether  it 
was  to  be  observed  as  a  "  whole  play-day  "  (as  distinguished 
from  the  usual  bi-weekly  half  play-day),  or  as  a  "  First  Thurs- 
day." Hence  the  latter  kind  came  to  be  generically  known  as 
"  First  Thursdays."  Thus  Shrove  Tuesday,  the  Prior's  Feast, 
and  the  Prefect's  Feast,  no  matter  on  what  day  of  the  week  they 
might  fall,  together  with  Easter  Monday  and  Whit  Monday, 
were  "First  Thursdays."  "First  Thursday,"  then,  is  a  tech- 
nical term,  and  as  such  used  by  way  of  comparison ;  but  the 
solid  fact  remains  that  at  Downside  "  whole  holidays  "  were 
practically  half  study-days,  and  Easter  Monday  was  a  "  First 
Thursday."  They  were  in  their  time  an  important  institution, 
breaking  the  monotony  of  term  time,  giving  rest  to  the  hard- 
working, and  hope  of  respite — alas,  too  often  fallacious  ! — to 
the  harassed  idler  ;  for,  these  holidays  furnished  masters  with  a 

252 


INSTITUTIONS,   CUSTOMS,   AND   GAMES 

reserve  of  power  in  the  shape  of  the  penal  infliction  of  Latin 
lines  or  detention. 

The  whole  question  of  play-days  and  extra  recreation  during 
term  time  is  connected  with  the  subject  of  "  First  Thursdays.' 
Latter-day  parents  would  no  doubt  be  shocked  at  such  a 
list  of  breaks  in  the  school  calendar,  but  in  justification  it 
may  be  pleaded  that  conditions  were  everywhere  different, 
and  that  results  do  not  shew  that  the  boys  who  went 
through  their  training  in  the  times  of  more  frequent  single 
holidays  were  less  well  equipped  for  the  battle  of  life  than 
those  harder-worked  boys  who  now  leave  the  walls  of  Down- 
side. About  a  generation  ago  the  following  were  the  re- 
laxations granted.  "  First  Thursdays  "  may  be  classified  as 
Jixed  and  ititerjnittent.  To  the  former  category  belonged  the 
first  Thursday  of  each  month  in  term  time.  Shrove  Tuesday, 
Easter  Monday  and  Tuesday,  Whit  Monday,  the  Prior's 
Feast,  the  Prefect's  Feast.  Under  the  latter  category  were 
the  day  of  the  Prior's  and  Prefect's  Installation,  visit  of  the 
bishop  of  the  diocese  and  of  the  president  of  the  English 
Benedictines,  once  in  each  quadrennium.  There  was  a 
holiday  with  no  studies  on  the  day  of  solemn  profession  or 
of  ordination  of  a  resident  member  of  the  community,  also 
on  feasts  of  the  house,  such  as  All  Saints  O.S.B.,  St.  Benet 
Biscop,  and  the  two  feasts  of  St.  Benedict.  The  "whole 
play-day"  with  "studies  on"  was  the  first  day  of  skating, 
which  could  be  altered  at  discretion  to  two  half  play-days. 
The  half  days  with  "studies  off"  occurred  on  the  feasts  of 
St.  George,  St.  Cecily,  when  any  resident  took  a  degree  at 
London  University,  and  on  the  sub-prefect's  feast.  This 
latter  was  not  a  special  half  day,  but  "studies  off"  were 
granted  on  the  nearest  half  day  to  the  proper  date.  "  Studies 
off"  were  also  granted  on  Easter  Sunday,  Whit  Sunday, 
Corpus  Christi,  Choosing  King  Night,  First  Communion 
Sunday,  Ascension  Thursday,  feast  of  SS.  Peter  and    Paul, 

253 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

Sunday  on  which  the  boys'  retreat  ended,  on  the  day  of  the 
dress  rehearsal  of  the  Christmas  play,  and  once  for  the 
inauguration  of  football,  handball,  and  cricket.  All  these 
relaxations  were  enjoyed  by  the  whole  school  indiscriminately, 
but  there  were  four  other  days  given  to  special  boys.  The 
first  was  given  to  those  who  passed  a  satisfactory  examination 
in  Greek.  The  day  selected  was  the  feast  of  St.  John  Chrys- 
ostom  (January  27th).  On  the  feast  of  St.  Damasus  a  half 
day  with  "studies  off"  was  granted  to  the  poetry  class,  pro- 
vided each  member  had  presented  a  satisfactory  piece  of 
poetry  of  his  own  composition.  In  the  determination  of  the 
qualifying  merits  of  the  aspirants  no  over-nice  discrimination 
was  exercised.  This  half  day  was  changed  in  1888  into  a 
half-holiday  for  deserving  contributors  to  the  Raven  maga- 
zine, but  has  now  altogether  vanished  from  the  diminished 
list ;  the  honour  and  glory  of  appearing  in  print  is  con- 
sidered to  be  its  own  reward,  and  not  requiring  any  more 
sordid  incentive.  On  St.  Bede's  feast  a  whole  day  with 
"studies  off"  was  accorded  those  boys  who  had  obtained 
honours  during  the  preceding  year's  examinations.  A  half 
day  with  "studies  off,"  and  a  '"tuck"  in  the  palace  after 
supper,  was  also  given  shortly  after  Christmas  and  Easter 
to  the  "  distinguished  " — that  is,  the  first  and  second  in  each 
class  at  the  Christmas  and  Easter  examinations. 

The  Prefect's  Feast 

Amongst  the  recreation  days,  the  Prefect's  feast  was  men- 
tioned as  a  First  Thursday.  It  enjoyed  in  addition  the  unique 
distinction  of  being  ushered  in  by  "  studies  off"  on  the  pre- 
vious evening  from  five  o'clock.  This  met  a  want :  for  the 
celebration  was  the  occasion  of  a  great  display  of  fireworks,  to 
which  was  added  at  a  later  period  the  burning  of  a  huge  bon- 
fire; and  the  wood  for  the  latter  had  to  be  collected.     The 

254 


INSTITUTIONS,   CUSTOMS,   AND   GAMES 

origin  of  the  pyrotechnic  exhibition  is  lost  in  obscurity,  but 
dates  back  to  oldest  living  memory.  On  the  eve  (in  earlier 
years),  the  boys  presented  their  prefect  with  a  bouquet  of 
flowers,  and  a  congratulatory  address  was  spoken  by  the  cap- 
tain of  the  school.  Then  all  made  their  way  to  the  "  college 
wood  "  and  there  collected  enough  material  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  huge  bonfire  on  the  lawn.  The  smaller  boys  dragged 
home  this  wood  in  triumph.  For  days  beforehand  squibs  and 
crackers  were  manufactured,  or,  in  later  times,  a  goodly  stock 
of  the  same  was  procured  from  London.  On  the  day  itself  all 
lent  willing  hands  in  the  construction  of  the  bonfire ;  and  at 
night  the  whole  school  sallied  forth,  set  the  bonfire  ablaze,  and 
then  did  battle  with  the  "natives"  who  invariably  came  to 
look  on  and  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  fun.  The  boys 
charged  them  with  rocket  and  Roman  candle,  and  received 
their  volleys  of  sods  in  reply :  the  main  endeavour  being 
to  prevent  them  from  carrying  out  their  part  of  the  annual 
programme,  which  consisted  of  an  attempt  to  demolish  the 
bonfire.  The  school  usually  drove  them,  from  the  lawn,  rout- 
ing them  with  glory.  As  a  wind-up,  came  the  playroom 
"  tuck,"  when  hot  negus  and  plum-duff  were  consumed,  songs 
sung,  and  toasts  proposed  and  duly  honoured,  the  band  mean- 
while discoursing  sweet  music.  As  may  easily  be  imagined, 
such  wild  doings  as  were  indulged  in  on  the  lawn  led  to  more 
than  one  serious  accident ;  so,  in  the  interests  of  all  parties,  the 
good  old  method  of  keeping  the  prefect's  feast  was  exchanged 
in  1886  for  a  more  prosaic  holiday  during  the  summer  term, 
devoted  to  cricket,  and  excursions  to  places  of  interest  in  the 
neighbourhood,  such  as  Cheddar  cliffs  with  their  wonderful 
caves.  The  annual  scrimmage  with  the  "natives"  has  become 
a  thing  of  the  past.  From  the  first  settlement  of  St.  Gregory's 
at  Downside,  the  local  country-people  had  been  designated 
"natives "by  the  "gentlemen  of  the  college,"  but  this  term 
has  dropped  from  the  school  argot,  having  given  way  to  "  vir," 

255 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

which  on  its  very  face  proclaims  that  its  adoption  was  due  to 
some  wave  of  classic  fervour.  "Vir"  has  in  its  turn  been 
superseded  by  "John,"  or  rather,  "John,"  for  it  is  used  as  a 
common  noun. 

Court  of  St.  Gregory's 

In  dealing  with  the  internal  social  history  of  St.  Gregory's 
during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  a  long  ac- 
count of  the  Court  of  St.  Gregory's  has  already  been  furnished, 
together  with  so  ample  an  early  eighteenth-century  description 
of  the  titles  and  duties  of  the  high  officers  of  State  connected 
with  it,  that  nothing  further  on  that  subject  remains  to  be  nar- 
rated. But  at  the  same  time,  no  history  of  Downside  would 
be  considered  altogether  complete  which  did  not  include  some 
account  of  this  ancient  custom,  as  observed  during  the  past 
century,  differing  only  in  slight  details  from  the  observance  of 
a  hundred  years  before,  and,  as  familiarly  known  to  many 
generations  of  still  happily  surviving  old  Gregorians. 

The  monarchy  was  elective,  restricted  in  authority,  and 
limited  in  time.  The  election  was  vested  in  the  school,  but 
not  exactly  by  universal  suffrage,  for  the  "  last  class  "  as  it  was 
called,  consisting  of  the  small  boys  who  had  only  lately  entered 
Downside,  were  not  only  excluded  from  the  glories  of  the 
palace  during  the  Christmas  holidays,  but  were  rigorously  ex- 
cluded from  any  voice  in  the  election  of  the  monarch. 
Though  thus  disfranchised,  they  do  not  seem  to  have  felt 
the  pressure  of  their  hard  lot,  and  managed  to  enjoy  them- 
selves well  enough  in  one  of  the  class-rooms  with  a  feast  of 
their  own  while  the  others  were  exercising  their  privilege  of 
polling. 

The  first  Tuesday  in  Advent  was  "  Choosing  King  Night." 
About  six  P.M.  all  the  boys  enjoying  the  franchise  assembled 
in  the  playroom  to  elect  the  king  for  the  ensuing  Christmas 

256 


INSTITUTIONS,   CUSTOMS,  AND  GAMES 

holidays.  The  choice  of  candidates  was  very  limited :  the 
authorities  selecting  three  upon  a  system  on  the  whole  satis- 
factory to  the  boys.  The  names  proposed  to  the  constituency 
were  those  of  the  head  boy  of  the  school — the  most  proficient 
in  studies;  the  patriarch, — he  who  had  been  longest  in  resi- 
dence ;  and  an  uncertain  third,  who  combined  somewhat  of 
each  qualification.  The  voting  was  by  ballot,  the  prefect  pre- 
siding. The  electors  improvised  their  own  voting  papers,  and 
the  voting  being  of  a  formal  character  and  seldom  resulting  in 
a  close  contest,  the  documents  were  prepared  long  beforehand, 
decorated  with  emblems  suggested  by  schoolboy  art  and  school- 
boy humour.  When  the  voting  was  over,  the  candidates 
retired  to  the  prefect's  room,  where  they  and  the  prefect 
counted  the  votes,  and  in  the  last  years  of  the  institution, 
formed  the  future  ministry.  Previously  these  high  offices  had 
mostly  gone  by  order  of  seniority,  the  only  element  of  uncer- 
tainty depending  upon  the  departure  of  a  very  few  boys  for 
home.  On  the  conclusion  of  the  counting  of  the  votes,  pre- 
fect and  candidates  would  return,  and  amidst  frantic  cheering 
announce  the  name  of  the  king-elect ;  and  then  the  recently 
appointed  Lord  Chief  Justice  proceeded  to  read  out  the  names 
of  the  other  officers  of  State  belonging  to  his  Majesty's  future 
court.  After  supper  there  was  a  playroom  punch  night  or 
"tuck."  In  the  course  of  these  festivities  the  last  boy  in  the 
school  was  hoisted  on  to  the  table,  and,  glass  in  hand,  proposed 
"  the  health  of  the  unknown  king : "  unknown,  because  the 
name  of  the  king-elect  was  supposed  to  be  kept  a  profound 
secret  from  the  monks  and  the  last  class  till  the  very  day  of  his 
proclamation  or  coronation. 

Christmas  Eve  was  spent  by  all  in  decorating  the  palace, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Mayor  of  the  palace.  When  Christ- 
mas Day  fell  on  a  Friday  or  a  Saturday,  and  therefore  the 
coronation  would  not  take  place  till  the  following  Monday,  to 
prevent  the  loss  of  so  many  days  of  the  reign,  the  expedient 

257  R 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

was  adopted  of  solemnly  proclaiming  the  sovereign  on  Christ- 
mas Day  after  vespers.  The  heralds  on  such  occasions  pro- 
claimed the  king  to  the  accompaniment  of  drum  and  trumpet, 
in  the  playroom,  the  monks'  calefactory,  and  other  public 
places.  This  was  done  in  due  form  :  "  Oyez,  Oyez,  Oyez : 
We  the  heralds,  &:c."  The  coronation  of  the  king  took  place 
on  Boxing  Day,  or  "  first  play  night,"  after  the  play,  at  the 
hands  of  the  prior  in  the  presence  of  the  audience ;  and  then 
from  the  throne  the  king  returned  thanks  for  the  honour  con- 
ferred upon  him.  The  laws  of  St.  Gregory's  Court  were  then 
read  out  by  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  and  thereupon  hung  up  in 
his  Majesty's  palace  during  the  reign  :  at  a  later  date,  these 
laws  were  replaced  by  the  list  of  officers.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  any  other  court  could  subsist  on  such  a  slender  stock 
of  legal  enactment.     The  regulations  ran  as  follows  : — 

Laws  oi'  St.  Gregory's  Court. 

Whosoever  shall  call  his  Majesty  by  any  other  name  than 
King  or  Majesty  shall  be  fined. 

Whosoever  shall  disturb  his  Majesty's  reign  by  any  unruly 
conduct  shall  be  fined  6d.,  and  banished  during  his  Majesty's 
pleasure. 

Whosoever  shall  leave  the  door  of  the  palace  open  shall  be 
fined. 

Whosoever  shall  neglect  the  duties  of  his  office,  or  interfere 
with  those  of  any  other  officer,  shall  be  fined  6d.,  and  banished 
during  his  Majesty's  pleasure. 

Whosoever  shall  murmur  at  the  decisions  of  the  Lord  Chief 
Justice  or  Earl  Marshal  shall  be  banished  during  his  Majesty's 
pleasure. 

Vivaf  Rex. 

The  amount  so  collected  by  the  payment  of  fines  was  given 
to  the  poor.      Thus  the  reign  began.     A  large  share  of  the 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND   GAMES 

enjoyment  derived  from  the  institution  consisted  in  the 
freedom  and  privileges  of  the  "palace."  A  room  was  set 
aside  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  king  and  his  court,  and 
was  always  spoken  of  as  the  "palace."  Formerly  this  room 
was  over  the  old  playroom  (now  the  space  occupied  by  the 
stage  wardrobe  and  the  music-rooms) ;  and  later,  the  "palace" 
was  transferred  to  the  one  now  dedicated  to  theatricals  and 
concerts.  None  of  the  masters  ever  entered  this  room  unless 
specially  invited  to  do  so.  Notwithstanding  this  freedom 
from  control,  which  constituted  one  of  the  chief  pleasures 
of  the  holidays,  the  privileges  accorded  were  seldom  abused, 
for  a  feeling  of  honour  prevented  any  breach  of  the  trust 
reposed  in  the  boys. 

A  day  or  two  after  the  coronation  the  "  Officers'  Feast " 
was  celebrated.  This  was  a  banquet  given  to  the  king  by 
all  the  officers  of  his  court.  To  do  honour  to  the  occasion, 
the  king  and  his  court  were  attired  in  their  robes,  and  it  was 
the  etiquette  for  visitors  to  appear  in  evening  dress.  The 
banquets  took  place  in  the  refectory,  and  were  occasions  that 
could  hardly  fail  to  fill  a  boy's  breast  with  honourable  pride. 
One  who  has  enjoyed  the  experience  has  recorded  these 
sentiments.  He  was  the  chosen  one  of  the  school,  and  so 
could  feel  that  he  possessed  the  respect  and  love  of  his  school 
fellows.  He  sat  in  the  place  of  honour,  the  observed  of  all 
observers  in  that  gay  and  joyful  assembly.  On  his  right, 
dispensing  the  hospitality  in  his  name,  sat  the  prior ;  on  his 
left,  the  .bishop  of  the  diocese,  who  rarely  failed  to  be  present. 
The  two  highest  officers  ranked  next,  and  then,  mingled  with 
the  other  guests, — canons,  dignitaries,  and  others  of  all  degrees, 
— came  the  rest  of  the  court  according  to  fixed  rules  of  pre- 
cedence. All  threw  themselves  heart  and  soul  into  the  spirit 
of  the  time,  and  treated  the  monarch  with  all  deference  and 
respect,  so  that  for  the  time-being  he  felt  himself  every  inch 
a  king.      And  it  was  wonderful  how  the  boy-king  and   his 

259 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

officers  rose  to  their  position,  and  behaved  with  all  the  dignity 
and  courtly  mien  befitting  their  exalted  rank.  It  was  in  truth 
education  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word.  Those  who  have 
never  taken  part  in  carrying  out  this  venerable  institution  must 
banish  from  their  mind  all  idea  that  it  was  something  childish 
and  unreal,  a  mere  playing  at  king.  It  was  nothing  of  the 
kind ;  it  was  from  first  to  last  intensely  genuine  and  serious. 
For  the  time  being  the  king  was  regarded  by  all,  and  really 
was,  the  most  prominent  personage  at  Downside.  And  the 
best  proof  of  this  is  that  strangers  who  had  not  been  brought 
up  to  it  were  fairly  carried  away  by  the  genius  loci.  It  was 
carried  out  on  a  grand  and  impressive  scale,  and  at  the 
banquets  the  full  etiquette  of  the  customary  court  cere- 
monial was  punctiliously  observed ;  thus  when  the  king 
rose  to  make  his  speech,  all  in  the  room  rose  with  him, 
and  remained  standing.  After  dinner  the  king  and  his  court 
walked  in  procession  to  the  palace,  where  dessert  followed, 
with  speeches  and  songs.  The  Lord  Chief  Justice  held  no 
sinecure,  for  to  him  fell  the  arduous  duty  of  proposing 
most  of  the  toasts,  and  as  a  rule  he  acquitted  himself  of 
his  task  tolerably  well.  Although  prepared  beforehand,  the 
king's  reply  to  the  toast  of  his  health  betrayed  an  under- 
current of  nervousness,  partly  from  his  position,  partly  from 
emotion  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for  he,  a  boy,  was  presiding 
over  the  whole  house,  and  all  eyes  were  upon  him ;  and  the 
acclamations  that  greeted  him  were  more  than  formal — they 
had  the  ring  of  the  affection  of  his  fellow-students.  Songs 
lightened  the  speeches :  some  whose  strains  always  brought 
a  thrill  of  pleasure,  some  at  which  the  quality  of  the  voice 
instantly  secured  a  hush,  and  other  dear  old  ditties  whose 
chorus  year  after  year  aroused  deafening  enthusiasm.  When 
the  round  of  toasts  was  complete,  cards  and  other  games 
occupied  the  time  till  midnight ;  the  king  and  a  privileged 
few  being  allowed  to  sit  up  still  later. 

260 


INSTITUTIONS/CUSTOMS,   AND   GAMES 

The; time :of  vacation  passed  in  skating  (if. there  was. a  frost), 
and  in  making  certain  traditional  "journeys."  This  term  is 
legendary,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  it  has  a  foreign 
origin,  and  was  brought  over  from  Douay.  It  is  certainly 
suggestive  of  the  idea  of  "making  a  day  of  it."  As  one  of 
these  events  was  very  like  .another,  the  description  of  one 
given  in  the  Journal  of  the  Debating  Society  in  1850  will 
serve  as  a  sample.  ''''Ex  uho  disce  omnes"  It  is  No.  3  of 
the  series  of  "  Manners  and  Customs  of  ye  Gentlemen  of 
Downside  in  ye  middle  of  ye  Nineteenth  Century :  being  a 
supplement  of  Mr.  Pips  his  diary,"  and  it  is  entitled  : — 

"A  Trippe  to  ye  Town  of  Shepton  Mallet. 

"  Being  ye  afternoon  of  ye  First  Thursday,  was  asked  to 
join  a  party  who  were  for  a  trippe  to  ye  little  town  of  Shepton 
Mallet;  and  though  much  fatigued  and  sorely  bruised  after  my 
exploits  in  ye  field  of  Football  did  consent.  Did  start  walking 
but  was  soon  overtaken  by  my  old  friend  Mr.  John  his  coach, 
and  was  glad  to  mount  thereon.  Did  enter  Shepton  Mallet 
with  great  show  on  ye  coach,  and  did  alight  at  Mr.  Scott  his 
hotel  of  ye  George,  where  did  stand  for  some  time  a  warming 
at  ye  fire  and  did  order  a  supper.  Then  in  ye  town  to  see  ye 
wonders  of  Shepton.  Nothing  marvellous  in  ye  town  save 
only  a  huge  gaol  for  ye  rogues  of  Somersetshire.  But  did  not 
care  to  see  ye  sights,  ye  great  attraction  being  ye  supper, 
which  did  hope  all  ye  time  would  soon  be  ready.  At  length 
did  return  to  ye  Hotel,  where  we  did  show  much  impatience 
and  hurrying,  till  ye  good  Lady  who  did  wait  upon  us  did 
bring  in  ye  dishes  and  ye  cuppes  and  saucers.  Tea  and  coffee 
and  toast,  and  bread  and  butter,  and  rolls  and  eggs,  and 
mutton  chops,  and  sausages  (which  they  did  call  sassengers) 
were  in  much  abundance.  Ye  good  Lady  did  much  press  us 
to  have  some  rashers  of  bacon,  but  'twas  not  to  our  taste.     All 

261 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

dishes  were  speedily  cleared,  then  filled  again,  then  cleared 
again  many  times.  'Twas  wonderful  to  see  ye  appetites  of  ye 
laddes ;  but  have  heard  that  boys  do  eat  much  more  than  men, 
and  do  now  believe  it.  Much  laughing  and  jesting  all  ye 
time,  and  all  in  excellent  spirits.  Did  ask  for  ye  bill,  and 
much  admired  how  cheap  'twas.  Only  one  shilling  a  head 
(Mr.  Wagstaffe  did  think  a-belly  more  fitting)  for  all  that  we 
did  eat  and  drink.  Did  wish  things  were  as  cheap  in  London. 
Much  debate  whether  we  should  ride  or  walk  home,  and  at 
length  carried  we  should  order  one  of  Mr.  Scott  his  carriages 
(which  we  did  call  a  vehicle).  We  were  in  number  nine  and 
yet  we  did  all  contrive  to  squeeze  into  one  chaise.  Had  a 
pair  of  horses  and  ye  post-boy  a-riding.  Did  go  very  quickly 
through  ye  town,  but  when  got  again  into  ye  country,  did 
commence  singing  with  much  glee.  Many  songs  were  sung 
which  I  do  not  remember  to  have  heard  before,  and  some 
very  pleasant  ditties.  One  did  sing  of  a  crow  sitting  in  ye 
oak  and  how  a  tailor  did  in  mistake  of  aim  shoot  an  old  sow 
right  through  ye  heart,  whereupon  there  was  much  lamenta- 
tion among  all  ye  little  pyggies.  Another  did  sing  of  a  sly 
little  Foxe,  which  one  night  did  carry  off  in  plunder  from  ye 
farmer's  yard  an  old  grey  goose ;  whereupon  there  was  much 
rejoicing  among  all  ye  little  Foxes.  Another  again  did  sing  of 
ye  bailiffs  going  to  ye  house  of  a  gentleman  in  debt,  and  how 
John  would  not  give  them  admission.  But  time  would  fail  me 
to  speak  of  all  ye  songs,  and  how  all  did  join  with  much 
shouting  and  noise  in  ye  choruses,  and  how  all  did  sing  with 
much  spirit  that  they  would  not  go  home  till  ye  morning.  We 
did  meet  on  ye  road  many  carts  and  wagons  laden  with  coal, 
and  this  did  seem  to  be  ye  great  traffic  on  ye  road  of  Shepton 
Mallet.  Ye  drivers  of  these  carts  did  speak  a  language  to  me 
unknown,  did  understand  that  ye  natives  of  Somersetshire  had 
a  droll  tongue  not  like  to  ye  ordinary  language  of  ye  English. 
Although  we  did  sing  that  we  would  not  go  home  till  ye  morn- 

262 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND   GAMES 

ing,  we  did  arrive  safe  at  ye  College  soon  after  nine  of  ye 
clock.  Did  for  some  time  stand  by  a  huge  fire  in  ye  play 
room,  and  tell  our  adventures  with  some  additions;  and 
then  being  very  tired,  and  thinking  not  to  rise  very  early 
to-morrow  morning,  did  go  upstairs  and  retire  to  bed." 

During  the  Christmas  holidays  there  was  also  a  performance 
of  the  Little  Play,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  vacation  the 
"  King's  Feast " — a  banquet  given  by  the  king  to  his  court — 
was  celebrated.  It  was  a  repetition  of  the  one  previously 
described.  The  end  came  on  the  Epiphany,  on  which  was 
held  the  "  last  palace  night."  (For  some  years  this  was  followed 
on  January  7  by  the  "  second  play  night.")  The  whole  school 
and  the  masters  were  invited  to  the  palace.  At  a  given  signal 
the  games  ceased,  the  company  rose  and  sang  "  God  save  the 
King,"  and  then,  without  any  further  speeches  or  ceremonies, 
the  boy-king  vacated  the  throne,  and  returned  to  his  former 
position  in  the  school.  There  was  a  certain  pathos  in  the 
situation.  It  must  have  been  with  strange  feelings  that  a  boy 
who  had  thus  been  raised  to  so  exalted  a  position,  and  treated 
by  one  and  all  with  such  marks  of  deference  and  respect,  found 
himself  plain  Jones  or  Robinson  again ;  something  akin  prob- 
ably to  those  of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  the  day  after  his 
year  of  office  has  expired. 

A  prominent  feature  in  the  Downside  life  of  the  past,  all  old 
Gregorians  look  back  on  the  Christmas-tide  spent  there  as  a 
pleasing  recollection.  Those  who  have  been  privileged  to  be 
elected  king  must  have  enjoyed  an  experience  quite  unlike 
anything  else  that  may  have  come  to  them  in  after  life  in  the 
acquisition  of  positions  and  honours ;  and  doubtless  ex-kings 
(of  whom  there  are  yet  many)  will,  as  long  as  life  lasts,  look 
back  on  their  respective  reigns  as  one  of  the  happiest  times  of 
their  lives. 

The  list  of  kings  is  here  appended. 

263 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

SUCCESSION    OF    KINGS    UPON    THE    THRONE 
OF    ST.    GREGORY'S. 

DouAY  (imperfect). 


1775.  Edward 

(Smythe) 

1790. 

Matthew 

(Jumelles) 

1780.  Francis 

(Throckmorton) 

1791. 

Henry 

(Mostyn) 

1788.  Joseph 

(Eldridge) 

1792. 

Roger 

(Farrell) 

1789.  Henry 

(Tichborne) 

N.B. — As  these  names  have  been  recovered  since  the  numbering  of  the 
kings,  they  are  left  out  of  the  reckoning,  so  as  not  to  disturb 
the  accepted  numeration,  as  found  on  the  "  King's  Card." 


Acton  Burnkll. 

1798. 

Edward  I. 

(Smythe)                j 

1806.  Luke 

(Barber) 

1799. 

Edward  II. 

(Lawrence) 

1807.  James  I. 

(Barnes) 

1800. 

Thomas  I. 

(Mulligan) 

1808.  William  in. 

(Morris) 

1 801. 

WilHam  I. 

(Lorymer) 

1809.  Theobald 

(MacKenna) 

1802. 

William  II. 

(Jameson) 

1810.  John  I. 

(Jenkins) 

1803. 

Joseph  I. 

(Glover) 

181 1.   Laurence 

(Nihell) 

1804. 

Thomas  II. 

(Jenkins) 

1812.   Thomas  III. 

(Brown) 

1805. 

Edward  HI. 

(Hebdin) 

Dow 

18 1 3.  Joseph  II. 

NSIDE. 

(Tasker) 

I8I4. 

Bernard 

(Collier) 

1827.  George  II. 

(Barrett) 

I8I5. 

Joseph  III. 

(Wilson) 

1828.   Edmund  L 

(Athy) 

I8I6. 

Anthony 

(Merrey) 

1829.   Edmund  II. 

(Coppinger) 

I8I7. 

Lewis 

(de  Sommery) 

1830.   Edward  IV. 

(Smythe) 

I8I8. 

George  I. 

(Knapp) 

1831.  James  IH. 

(Power) 

I8I9. 

Thomas  IV. 

(de  Sommery) 

1832.  Charles  L 

(Davis) 

1820. 

Henry  I. 

(Stonor) 

1833.  Joseph  V. 

(Tidmarsh) 

I82I. 

Barnaby 

(Murphy) 

1834.  Thomas  V. 

(Smith) 

1822. 

James  II. 

(Kendal) 

1835.  Robert  I. 

(Barnewell) 

- 

1823. 

William  IV. 

(Philipson) 

1836.   Richard  I. 

(O'Gorman) 

1824. 

Patrick 

(McGawly) 

1837.  Henry  H. 

(Blount) 

1825. 

Joseph  IV. 

(Nagle) 

1838.  Maurice 

(O'Connell) 

1826. 

Francis  I. 

(Ford) 

1839.  Walter  L 

(Selby) 

264 


INSTITUTIONS,   CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 


Downside  {continued) — 


1840. 

Thomas  VI. 

(Selby) 

i860. 

Alexander 

(Ford) 

I84I. 

Henry  III. 

(Fynes) 

1861. 

Baldwyn 

(Fleming) 

1842. 

Henry  IV. 

(Moore) 

1862. 

Walter  III. 

(de  Souza) 

1843. 

John  II. 

(Day) 

1863. 

Archembald 

(Fleming) 

1844. 

Walter  II. 

(Smythe) 

1864. 

William  V. 

(Petre) 

1845. 

Thomas  VII 

.  (O'Brien) 

1865. 

Eugene 

(Codd) 

1846. 

George  III. 

(Lynch) 

1866. 

Henry  V. 

(Knight) 

1847. 

Edward  V. 

(Riddell) 

1867. 

David 

(Sherlock) 

1848. 

Jeremiah 

(Murphy) 

1868. 

ThomasVIII 

.  (Tiernan) 

1849. 

James  IV. 

(O'Connell) 

1869. 

Martin 

(Blake) 

1850. 

Richard  II. 

(Taaffe) 

1870. 

Raymund 

(Clarke) 

I85I. 

George  IV. 

(Clarke) 

1871. 

Charles  HI. 

(French) 

1852. 

John  III. 

(Kendal) 

1872. 

Ambrose 

(Walford) 

1853. 

Francis  II. 

(de  Paiva) 

1873. 

James  VI, 

(Howlett) 

1854. 

John  IV. 

(Murphy) 

1874. 

Edward  VI. 

(Butler) 

1855. 

Charles  II. 

(O'Conor) 

1875. 

Robert  II. 

(French) 

1856. 

James  V. 

(Murphy) 

1876. 

Francis  III. 

(Fulton) 

1857. 

Denis 

(O'Conor) 

(The  last  with 

a  full  court.) 

1858. 

Paul 

(Rochford) 

1877. 

John  V. 

(Kendal) 

1859. 

Edmund  V. 

(Harting) 

1878. 

Michael 

(Dunlea) 

The  Sodality  of  Our  Lady. 

The  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  a  confraternity 
founded  at  St.  Gregory's,  in  Douay,  under  the  special  patron- 
age and  invocation  of  Our  Lady.  It  owes  its  origin  to  Dom 
Thomas  Augustine  Howard,  who  was  elected '  Prior  of  St. 
Gregory's  in  1677.  It  is  possible  that  it  was  but  a  revival 
of  a  still  earlier  association,  for  among  the  printed  books 
mentioned  in  a  catalogue  of  the  library  of  the  English  Bene- 
dictine Dames  at  Cambray  —  a  catalogue  preserved  in  the 
public  library  of  that  city — the  following  opuscule  is  men- 
tioned :  "  Modus  recitandi  rosarium  B.M.V.,  sicut  recitatur 
in  Sodalitate  Collegii  Anglo-Benedictini  S.  Gregorii  Magni 
Duaci.  Duaci,  Beller,  1640,  24mo."  Beller  was  the  printer 
of  most  of  the  books  in  Latin  that  issued  from  St.  Gregory's 

265 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

in  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  as  for  instance 
the  Apostolatus  in   1626. 

The  erection  of  the  sodaHty  was  evidently  a  work  to  which 
Prior  Howard  devoted  early  attention,  for  on  May  22,  1678, 
"  in  the  Church  of  St.  Gregory's,  after  a  sermon  and  Mass  of 
the  Holy  Rosary,  at  an  altar  expressly  prepared  and  orna- 
mented with  a  picture  of  the  Annunciation  (so  particular  is 
the  official  document),  Fr.  Adrian  Boeckel,  prior  of  the  Con- 
vent of  Friars  Preachers  in  Douay,  instituted,  erected,  and 
founded,  at  the  petition  of  the  prior  and  Convent  of  St. 
Gregory  the  Great,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  the  Con- 
fraternity of  the  most  Holy  Rosary,  by  special  grace  and 
favour ;  extending  its  privileges  to  the  religious  of  the  said 
house,  to  the  boarders  in  the  school,  the  servants,  and  to  any 
friends  from  England  living  there,  but  to  no  one  beyond." 
At  the  same  time  the  prior  was  constituted  rector  of  the  con- 
fraternity, with  power  to  admit  persons  into  it,  &c.,  "accord- 
ing to  the  customs  wont  to  be  observed  in  our  own  convents.'^ 

The  elaborate  care  with  which  its  "  laws  and  ordinances " 
were  drawn  up  by  Prior  Howard  himself  sufficiently  testify  to 
the  importance  he  attached  to  the  work.  The  actual  and 
immediate  direction  of  the  sodality  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  "father"  who  was  to  be  its  superior  and  governor; 
he  was  always  to  be  a  priest  of  the  monastery,  nominated 
and  appointed  by  the  prior,  to  and  upon  whom  he  was  to 
be  "immediately  subject  and  depending."  The  remaining 
officials  were  to  be  themselves  sodalists.  There  were  :  the 
"prefect,"  vested  with  a  considerable  amount  of  authority 
and  responsibility  ;  to  him  was  entrusted  the  exterior  good 
order  of  the  sodality,  as  the  interior  and  spiritual  interests 
were  in  the  keeping  of  the  "  father."  The  prefect  was  aided 
in  his  duties  by  two  assistants,  who  supplied  his  place  in  his 
absence.     The  fifth  official  was  the  secretary,  for  previous  to 

266 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

the  French  Revolution  the  sodality  was  a  thoroughly  formal 
institution,  and  held  a  more  prominent  place  in  school-life 
than  it  has  done  since.  Lastly  came  two  sacristans,  to  whose 
care  was  confided  the  chapeland  all  things  pertaining  to  the 
service  of  the  altar.  Within  the  scope  of  their  duties  came 
the  decking  of  the  altar,  and  even  the  sweeping  out  of  the 
chapel  at  stated  times. 

Throughout  the  regulations  there  is  observable  a  desire, 
whilst  they  secured  proper  and  efficient  control,  to  give  full 
liberty  to  the  sodalists  to  manage  their  own  affairs,  and  to 
maintain  discipline  and  order  as  much  as  possible  through 
members  of  their  own  society  without  continual  interference 
and  supervision.  Most  of  the  officials  were  elected  by  the 
members  themselves  by  plurality  of  votes ;  those  who  desired 
to  be  sacristans,  however,  were  to  freely  offer  themselves 
for  the  post,  and  as  many  of  the  sodalists  volunteered  their 
services  they  were  changed  once  a-month,  to  give  all  a  chance 
of  performing  this  duty.  The  sodality  had  a  chapel  of  its 
own,  sometimes  simply  called  "the  sodality,"  at  other  times 
referred  to  as  "the  oratory";  the  chancel  was  divided  from 
the  body  by  rails.  It  was  a  privilege  of  the  officials  to  have 
their  seats  within  the  chancel.  The  sacristans  kept  the  keys 
of  the  chapel  as  a  sort  of  insignia  of  their  office. 

The  qualifications  for  admission  required  the  ^candidates  to 
be  in  or  above  the  class  of  syntax  (fourth  form)  ;  but  boys 
who  had  been  for  three  months  continuously  amongst  the 
first  six  in  the  grammar  class  (third  form)  were  also  eligible, 
and  all  had  to  furnish  a  certificate  of  good  conduct  from  the 
prefect  of  studies  and  from  their  class  master.  The  ceremony 
of  admission  was  solemn  and  impressive. 

Apart  from  the  spiritual  objects  of  this  confraternity,  its 
special  room  served  the  purposes  of  a  privileged  club  and 
library,   and    must  have    been    greatly  appreciated,   and    ad- 

267 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

mittance    into    the    limited    number    of   the    sodahsts    much 
coveted. 

The  sodality  continued  to  flourish  until  1793,  and  at  the 
dispersal  of  the  school  it  fell  into  abeyance,  nor  was  it  re- 
habilitated till  1827,  when  the  piety  and  energy  of  the  late 
Archbishop  Folding,  at  that  time  prefect  of  the  boys,  started 
it  on  a  new  career  of  usefulness.  The  indulgences  it  had 
enjoyed  during  its  former  existence  were  renewed  through 
the  good  offices  and  interest  of  the  late  Cardinal  Weld.  It 
was  also  then  furnished  with  its  own  library,  but  possessing 
no  chapel  distinctively  its  own  it  never  regained  its  old  position 
as  a  social  agency ;  yet  it  has  always  continued  to  exercise  a 
potent  influence  for  good  on  its  purely  spiritual  side.  The 
need  for  its  old  officials  has  also  ceased.  It  is  under  the 
direction  of  its  "  prefect  " — the  name  by  which  the  "  father  " 
of  old  is  now  known.  On  Sunday  evenings  he  meets  the 
members  of  the  sodality  and  gives  them  a  short  and  familiar 
discourse  or  conference.  The  members  are  distinguished  by 
wearing  a  silver  cross,  the  design  of  Dr.  Folding,  and  by 
these  crosses  old  Gregorians  may  often  be  singled  out  in 
any  Catholic  gathering  away  from  Downside.  So  beneficial 
indeed  has  the  sodality  proved  itself  to  be,  that  in  1892  it 
was  thought  advisable  to  erect  another  confraternity  modelled 
on  the  lines  of  the  sodality  for  the  boys  in  the  middle  of 
the  school.  This  institution  was  placed  under  the  patron- 
age of  St.  Benedict. 

Theatricals. 

St.  Gregory's,  throughout  its  existence  at  Downside,  has 
been  noted  for  its  attention  to  theatricals  as  a  real  and  solid 
adjunct  to  education — used  in  the  best  and  fullest  sense  of 
the  word  —  of  the  boys  entrusted  to  its  care.      Notice  has 

268 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

already  been  taken  of  the  indications  of  theatricals  as  far  back 
as  the  seventeenth  century,  but  our  available  records  do  not 
take  us  beyond  the  knowledge  of  the  mere  fact.  The  justifi- 
cation of  the  employment  of  theatricals  as  a  serious  part  of 
school-life  rests  on  the  belief  that  they  are  an  educative 
influence  through  the  cultivation  of  the  literary  and  poetic 
senses  and  the  artistic  tastes  of  the  boys,  and  that  they  give 
not  merely  a  certain  confidence  and  ease  in  speaking  in 
public,  but  also  impart  lessons  in  management,  contrivance, 
and  organisation.  The  "  Play  "  has  ever  entered  into  the  very 
life  of  St.  Gregory's  school;  and  the  fact  of  having  a  part, 
no  matter  how  humble,  and  of  having  had  to  be  present  at 
the  rehearsals  of  three  or  four  of  the  Christmas  plays,  has 
given  to  a  wide  circle  of  boys  a  more  intimate  and  more 
real  knowledge,  and  a  truer  appreciation,  of  some  of  the 
masterpieces  of  English  literature,  than  could  have  been 
obtained  in  any  other  way,  even  in  "getting  up"  a  play 
for  an  examination.  Such  a  practice,  it  is  maintained,  is 
education  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word.  Therefore  the 
restriction,  till  recent  years,  to  a  single  play,  and  that  by 
Shakespeare,  made  the  boys  thoroughly  acquainted  with  its 
elevated  thought,  poetic  expression,  nervous  diction,  and 
skilful  construction.  It  taught  them  the  delineation  of 
character  and  emotion  ;  and  the  collateral  information  that 
necessarily  accompanied  the  teaching  of  a  part  opened  their 
minds  and  stored  them  with  facts  which  will  probably  have 
survived  through  life.  During  recent  years  plays  by  later 
and  even  modern  writers  have  occasionally  taken  the  place  of 
the  traditional  Shakespearean  revival.  They  may  possibly 
have  been  better  acted,  but  of  their  very  nature  they  could 
not  have  had  an  equally  educative  and  taste-refining  effect. 
This  annual  event  had — and  to  a  certain  extent  still  has — 
its  concomitant  ritual  most  scrupulously  carried  out.      Thus 

269 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

on  November  i,  the  name  of  a  play  was  announced  most 
solemnly  as  the  play  selected  for  the  year.  Most  of  the  im- 
portant parts  were  allotted  to  the  new-comers,  who  were  sent 
on  foolish  errands  to  get  play-books,  be  fitted  with  dresses, 
&c.,  &c.  After  some  little  while,  Dom  Anthony  Bulbeck, 
with  whom  this  innocent  hoax  originated,  with  the  purpose 
of  exciting  greater  interest  in  the  play,  would  return  to  the 
playroom,  and  announce  that  there  had  been  some  slight 
mistake  :  that  he  had  read  from  the  wrong  paper :  and  then 
the  real  selection  would  be  made  known.  The  date  for 
commencing  the  preparation  of  the  play  has  of  recent  years 
been  anticipated,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  greater  pressure 
of  work  on  the  ordinary  studies  demands  an  extension  of  the 
time  formerly  considered  sufficient  for  teaching  the  play.  On 
the  First  Thursday  of  December,  the  play  dresses  were  un- 
packed from  the  huge  cupboard  where  they  had  lain  since 
the  previous  Christmas.  This  work  was  accomplished  by 
four  of  the  elder  boys,  who  laid  them  out  in  the  old  "  chemical 
room,"  which  became  for  the  time  being  property  room, 
wardrobe,  and  green-room  ;  and  from  then  till  Christmas  the 
chemistry  class  had  to  forego  its  demonstrations.  That 
evening  the  four  "  dress  boys  "  had  a  special  "  tuck  "  with  the 
teacher  of  the  play.  This  "dress  tuck"  was  considered  the 
most  select  of  the  whole  year.  The  apportioning  of  dresses 
suitable  to  the  various  characters  in  play,  farce,  and  palace 
was  left  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  these  four  boys ;  and 
very  creditably,  as  a  rule,  did  they  acquit  themselves  of  their 
task.  After  the  great  elaboration  of  dress  which  was  intro- 
duced in  1874,  ascribable  mainly  to  the  influence  and  taste 
of  the  late  Lord  Petre,  the  choice  and  distribution  formerly 
left  to  the  boys  was  gradually  reserved  to  himself  by  the  play 
teacher.  The  dress  rehearsal  just  before  Christmas  wound 
up  the  arduous  labours  of  preparation,  and  was  always,  and  is 

270 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

now,  a  very  serious  affair.  Boxing  day,  or  the  next  con- 
venient day,  was  the  "  First  Play  Night."  The  performance 
usually  began  about  5  p.m.,  or  even  later ;  and  by  the  time 
that  play,  refreshments,  farce,  and  coronation  of  the  king, 
together  with  the  speech  from  the  throne,  were  concluded, 
it  was  close  on  midnight.  The  estimation  and  popularity 
of  the  theatricals  is  best  attested  by  the  fact  that  year  after 


THE    "PALACE,"    SHEWING   THE   STAGE' 


year  visitors  waited  to  the  very  end,  and  started  at  midnight 
on  the  long  twelve-mile  drive  back  to  Bath.  In  former  days 
a  second  play  night  occurred  on  January  7  ;  and  on  the 
following  day  the  dresses  were  carefully  folded  up  and  con- 
signed once  more  to  their  cupboards.  The  four  boys  en- 
gaged in  this  task  were  rewarded  by  another  "dress  tuck," 
but  a  tinge  of  melancholy  pervaded  it  in  spite  of  the  good 
things  provided,  for  their  minds  could  not  but  contrast  the 

271 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

joyous  festivities  of  the  departed  Christmas  with  the  ordinary 
routine  of  schoolboy  Hfe  awaiting  them  with  the  resumption 
of  studies  on  the  morrow.  At  times  there  was  a  "  Little 
Play "  for  the  last  two  or  three  classes,  which  was  rehearsed 
in  the  study  room  while  the  more  important  rehearsals  were 
going  on  overhead.  The  presentation  of  this  juvenile  effort 
was  fixed  for  some  date  during  the  Christmas  holidays. 
Thus  it  came  about  that  each  year  practically  every  boy 
in  the  school  was  at  least  a  supernumerary  in  one  or  other 
of  the  plays. 

On  the  eve  of  the  December  First  Thursday  the  farce  was 
read  out  to  the  select  few  to  be  engaged  in  it ;  and  by 
traditional  usage  its  title  had  to  be  kept  a  profound  secret. 
Persevering  efforts  are  year  by  year  made  to  discover  it, 
and  very  amusing  are  some  of  the  ruses  adopted  to  learn 
the  secret.  The  rehearsals  take  place  three  or  four  times 
a-week,  either  after  supper  or  after  night  prayers  with  an 
occasional  accompaniment  of  wine  or  negus  by  way  of 
encouragement. 

Since  railways  have  brought  about  the  abandonment  of 
the  old  method  of  celebrating  a  Downside  Christmas,  the 
play  invariably  takes  place  on  the  evening  preceding  the 
break-up  for  the  Christmas  vacation. 

Besides  the  many  plays  of  Shakespeare  which  have  been 
taught  and  produced  at  Downside,  "The  Critic"  has  ap- 
peared on  our  boards  three  times:  in  1831,  in  1880,  and 
in  1 90 1.  The  "Rivals"  was  presented  in  1883.  On  three 
occasions,  too,  opera  has  been  attempted,  each  time  with  con- 
spicuous success  :  the  "Doge  of  Venice"  in  1877,  noted  for 
being  a  home  production  both  as  to  music  and  libretto ;  and 
Gilbert  and  Sullivan's  "  Ruddigore "  in  1898,  and  "H.M.S. 
Pinafore"  in   1900. 

The  tale  of  Downside's  histrionic  triumphs  would  be  in- 

272 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

complete  without  the  mention  of  the  production  of  a  Greek 
play,  which  took  place  at  Midsummer  1897.  It  was  a  new 
and  bold  departure  for  our  school  stage,  but  as  the  news- 
paper criticisms  remain  to  witness,  one  completely  justified 
by  the  admirable  result  attained,  and  reflecting  great  credit 
on  Dom  Lawrence  Kynaston  and  Mr.  R.  R.  Terry,  to  whose 
untiring  efforts  the  success  of  the  venture  was  mainly  due. 
The  play  selected  was  Euripides'  "Alkestis." 

A  detailed  history  of  the  various  serious  productions  of 
the  Downside  stage — "The  Theatre  Royal,  Downside,"  to 
give  it  its  proper  official  title — would  make  a  bulky  pamphlet 
by  itself.  Many  who  subsequently  distinguished  themselves 
in  after-life  first  exhibited  their  parts  on  the  miniature  stage 
of  their  school-days.  A  bald  list  of  the  plays  acted  at  Down- 
side can  alone  be  given  here ;  but  it  will  serve  to  shew  that 
much  hard  work  was  expended  year  by  year  in  the  process 
of  preparing  such  a  creditable  list  of  annual  performances. 
A  histrionic  tradition  was  formed  at  Downside  by  such 
men  as  Archbishop  Folding,  Bishop  Davis,  and  Fathers 
Anthony  Bulbeck,  Clement  Clarke,  and  Clement  Fowler,  the 
principal  teachers  of  the  plays  during  a  long  series  of  years. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  plays  that  have  been  acted  at 
Downside  since  the  year  1823  : — 

Shakespeare. 

Timon  of  Athens  :  1850, 
Comedy  of  Errors  :  1880,  1892. 

Julius  Cc^sar  :  1823,  1838,  1843,  1847,  1863,1871,  1881,  1890. 
King  Lear:  1853,  i860,  1874. 

Hamlet :  1829,  1852,  1867,  1875,  1882,  1888,  1895. 
Macbeth:  1824,  1833,  1854,  1866,  1872,  1887,  1894. 
King  John:  1851,  1858,  1869,  1876,  1885. 
Richard  II.:  1879. 

Henry  IV.  (Pt.  I.):  1825,  1831,  1837,  1839,  1842,  1846,  1855,  1865, 
1870,  1884,  1 89 1,  1897. 

273  S 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

Shakespeare  (continued) — 

Henry  IV.  (Pt.  II.)  :  1826,  1830,  1834,  1841,  1848,  1859. 

Henry  v.:  1827,  1836,  1840,  1845,  1864. 

Henry  VI.  (Pt.  II.):   1849,  1857,  1862.  ■ 

Richard  III.:  1828,  1832,  1835,  1844,  1873,  1889,  1896. 

Merchant  of  Venice,  1861,  1868,  1878,  1886,  1893. 
The  Critic:  1831,  1880,  1901. 
T\\Q  Rivals:  1 883. 
Opera. 

Doge  of  Venice  :   1877. 

Riuldigore  :    1898. 

1 1. M.S.  Pinafore  :    1900. 
Greek  Play. 

"  Alkestis"  of  Euripides  :   1897. 

The  farces  and  comedies  and  minstrel  entertainments,  for 
which  the  Downside  stage  has  been  noted,  all  testify  to  energy 
and  skill ;  but  of  their  nature  they  are  too  ephemeral  and 
unimportant  to  engage  further  attention  here,  though  each  in 
its  time  did  useful  work.  They  do  not  pretend  to  serve  an 
educational  purpose,  except  in  a  very  secondary  degree,  and 
are  resorted  to  merely  as  breaks  in  the  monotony  of  school-Hfe. 

A  minor  feature  of  similar  nature  to  the  above  representations 
may  be  pointed  out  in  the  monthly  exhibitions  of  recitations 
and  music.  These  serve  a  double  purpose.  They  ensure  the 
careful  study  of  music,  for  any  boy  may  be  selected  to  perform 
before  masters  and  the  rest  of  the  school ;  and  the  recitations 
enable  the  authorities  to  discover  latent  talent  available  for 
the  Downside  stage. 

The  record  of  accomplishment  at  Downside  is  not  here- 
with exhausted,  for  as  imitation  is  the  sincerest  form  of 
flattery,  so  the  hold  the  orthodox  annual  play  had  over  the 
imaginations  of  the  boys  has  found  reflection  from  time  to 
time  in  various  sporadic  outbursts,  informal  and  unequal 
eff'orts  to  emulate  the  doings  of  the  official  stage.  The  first 
of  these  efforts  carries  us  back  some  sixty  years  to  a  class-room 

274 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

now  merged  in  the  cloister  outside  the  Petre  Library,  where  a 
revered  prelate  of  the  Order  acquired  as  a  boy  great  notoriety 
for  the  class-room  plays  which  he  himself  wrote  and  taught  to 
his  fellow-actors.  In  spite  of  ridicule  and  practical  jokes,  he 
persevered,  and  although  the  stage  appliances  consisted  only 
of  blackboards,  with  outlines  in  chalk  arranged  for  back  and 


SCHOOL   CLOISTERS 
{The  "Court  of  Arches") 


side  scenes,  it  is  said  that  the  announcement  of  a  play 
was  always  welcomed  with  acclamation,  and  the  audience  was 
so  numerous  that  even  standing-room  was  at  a  premium.  In 
1872  an  outburst  of  enterprise  grew  into  an  institution  that 
for  a  couple  of  years  held  a  prominent  place  among  the  multi- 
tudinous objects  of  schoolboy  interest.  A  few  of  the  boys 
conceived  the  idea  of  organising   some  theatricals,  and  for 

275 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

that  purpose  formed  themselves  into  a  company.  At  first  a 
profound  secret,  it  before  long  obtained  the  sanction  of  the 
prefect,  and  a  stage  was  fitted  up  at  the  end  of  a  cloister 
which  is  now  merged  in  what  is  known  as  the  "Court  of 
Arches,"  at  the  point  where  the  grand  staircase  opens  out 
on  to  it.  This  was  named  the  "  Gaiety  Theatre."  The  com- 
pany was  completely  under  the  control  of  the  acting  manager, 
one  of  its  own  number,  elected  by  themselves.  He  chose  and 
adapted  the  farces,  allotted  the  parts,  presided  at  rehearsals, 
drilled  the  actors,  and  in  fact  put  the  plays  on  the  stage ;  for 
the  speciality  of  the  Gaiety  Theatre  was  that  it  was  conducted 
exclusively  by  the  boys  without  any  aid  from  a  master.  The 
Gaiety  Theatre  was  always  very  popular,  and  was  the  sign  of 
the  revival  of  a  spirit  of  wholesome  enterprise  and  independent 
activity  amongst  the  boys  at  a  period  when  these  qualities  had 
perhaps  fallen  somewhat  into  abeyance ;  when  there  was  no 
debating  society,  and  the  magazines  were  in  a  moribund  state. 
When,  however,  the  Abingdon  Society  was  started,  and  opened 
out  a  more  useful  and  a  higher  field  for  boyish  energy,  the 
Gaiety  Theatre  naturally  collapsed,  in  obedience  to  the  law  of 
the  survival  of  the  fittest.  A  somewhat  similar  venture,  but 
on  a  far  smaller  scale,  was  inaugurated  in  1891,  when,  through 
the  energy  of  some  boys  in  the  middle  of  the  school,  a  series 
of  plays  was  presented  in  a  class-room  under  the  auspices  of 
the  "  M.J.I ).S.T.S."  This  majestic  array  of  letters  stands 
for  "  Members  of  the  Junior  Debating  Society's  Theatrical 
Society "  —  the  title  wherewith  they  had  overburdened 
themselves. 

Music. 

Finally,  a  few  words  must  be  said  on  the  kindred  subject 
of  music  and  concerts.  The  Downside  concert  stage  has 
witnessed  from  time  to  time  some  notable  triumphs,  not  the 

276 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND   GAMES 

least  of  which  have  been  gained  during  the  past  few  years, 
under  the  able  and  scholarly  tuition  of  Mr.  R.  R.  Terry,  now 
choirmaster  to  the  new  Westminster  Cathedral.  The  result  of 
his  labours  at  Downside  has  been  eulogised  in  such  well- 
known  musical  critical  papers  as  the  Saturday  Review.  But 
even  before  he  came  to  St.  Gregory's,  his  predecessors  had 
ventured  on  ambitious  programmes,  whose  success  justified 
the  confidence  which  attempted  them.  A  whole  generation 
of  Gregorians  will  recall  with  pleasure  the  annual  St.  Cicely 
Concerts,  whose  programmes  spoke  volumes  for  the  taste, 
ability,  and  energy  of  those  mainly  responsible  for  them. 
Two  names  stand  prominently  forward  as  having  done  yeo- 
man's service  for  the  Downside  choir — Dom  Clement  Clarke 
and  Dom  Bede  Cox.  Within  the  past  twenty  years — to  go 
no  further  back — such  exacting  music  as  Haydn's  "Spring" 
(1884);  Van  Bree's  Cantata  for  St.  Cecilia's  day  and  Mendels- 
sohn's 42nd  Psalm,  "As  the  heart  pants"  (1885);  Mendels- 
sohn's "Hymn  of  Praise"  (1886);  and  Haydn's  "Autumn" 
(1887),  point  to  capable  and  comparatively  scholarly  inter- 
pretations, the  result  of  much  hard  work  ungrudgingly  given 
in  evening  play  hours.  The  repertoire  of  church  music  has 
always  been  an  extensive  one.  Of  late  years  a  very  special 
training  has  been  bestowed  on  the  members  of  the  choir,  and 
under  the  professional  skill  of  Mr.  Terry,  Downside  has  had 
the  honour  of  rehabilitating  the  memory  of  such  English 
musicians  as  Tallis  and  Byrd,  not  only  as  great  composers, 
but  as  composers  of  Catholic  and  not  Anglican  church  music. 

The  Swimming  -  Bath. 

In  1874  Mgr,  Petre  commenced  the  construction  of  a 
swimming-bath,  laying  out  with  excellent  taste  the  walks 
and    grounds  leading   up  to  it,   and  himself  designing   the 

277 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

dressing  pavilion  in  the  Swiss  chalet  style,  even  the  details 
of  the  multitudinous  carvings  testifying  to  his  artistic  and 
skilful  ability.  The  work  was  pushed  on  with  such  vigour 
that  in  the  summer  of  1875  the  bath  was  in  use,  and  the 
surrounding  banks  well  stocked  with  shrubs  and  trees.  The 
rough  stones  of  the  rockery  work  that  supports  the  banks 
were  brought  from  the  College  Wood  quarry,  and  were 
ornamented  with  ferns  and  a  variety  of  creepers.  Beautiful 
as  were  the  old  bathing-places  at  Lucombe  and  Holcombe 
ponds,  they  were  too  far  away  to  be  convenient,  and  the 
.water  was  not  pure  ;  so  every  one  was  delighted  with  the 
nearer  substitute.  The  "  Petre  Swimming- Bath,"  named  by 
some  wag  "The  Sea  of  Petre,"  and  so  most  generally  referred 
to,  was  a  very  costly  work  ;  and  were  it  the  only  generous 
benefaction  of  the  donor,  present  and  future  generations  of 
Gregorians  would  owe  him  grateful  remembrance. 

A  very  distressing  incident  was  connected  with  the  open- 
ing of  this  bath.  Shortly  after  it  had  been  inaugurated 
Dom  Lawrence  Vrignon  was  bathing  alone  early  in  the 
morning,  and,  being  unable  to  swim,  got  out  of  his  depth, 
and  was  drowned  on  Whitsun  Eve  1876.  The  proximity 
of  the  bath  to  the  school  makes  it  easy  for  the  boys  to  learn 
swimming ;  and  the  Gregorian  Society,  ever  foremost  in  en- 
couraging whatever  is  likely  to  be  of  benefit  to  the  boys, 
has  frequently  offered  valuable  prizes  for  competition  at 
aquatic  sports  usually  held  in  connection  with  the  doings 
.of  Exhibition  week. 

The  Museum. 

A  well  -  arranged  school  museum  is  nowadays  acknow- 
ledged as  almost  an  educational  necessity.  It  should  com- 
prise such  antiquities   as   may  be  discovered  in   the   neigh- 

278 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

bourhood  :  minerals  and  fossils,  animals  and  plants ;  exhibits 
illustrative  of  certain  local  or  national  industries,  manufac- 
tures, or  products ;  coins ;  special  collections,  more  or  less 
complete  of  their  kind,  made  abroad  by  former  students ; 
manuscripts,  and  all  manner  of  miscellaneous  objects,  no 
matter  what  their  nature  or  intrinsic  value,  relating  to  the 
history  of  the  school ;  and  photographs  illustrative  of  all  the 
above  groups  where  originals  are  not  procurable. 

Such  a  collection  would  have  a  real  educational  value ; 
for  the  fostering  of  the  pursuit  of  collecting  and  studying — 
say — natural  history  objects,  gives  a  training  likely  to  be 
beneficial  in  after-life  :  it  imparts  a  habit  of  order  and 
method,  and  develops  the  faculty  of  observation. 

The  Downside  museum  owes  its  beginning  to  the  late 
Dom  Nicholas  Kendal,  who  in  1824,  during  his  novitiate, 
found  slt)  ammonite  on  Mogg  Hill  and  carried  it  home. 
To  this  fossil  he  added  further  trophies,  all  kept  in  a  dingy 
cupboard  in  his  room.  This  receptacle  having  become 
in  time  crammed  to  overflowing,  permission  was  obtained 
to  utilise  No.  5  room  in  "  Paradise  Row " — the  one  nearest 
to  the  turret  staircase,  but  now  absorbed  in  the  Petre  Lib- 
rary. Here  the  collection  could  be  displayed  to  better 
advantage,  and  remain  undisturbed,  constantly  increasing  by 
further  additions  and  donations,  till  the  year  1850,  when  it 
was  moved  for  a  short  while  to  the  place  now  occupied  by 
the  music  rooms.  After  a  short  sojourn  in  that  spot,  it  was 
removed  to  the  space  over  the  present  play-room,  now  oc- 
cupied by  boys'  private  rooms.  When  the  Observatory  on 
Mogg  Hill  was  ready  for  occupation,  the  lower  room  was 
assigned  to  the  housing  of  the  museum  ;  and  thither  the 
miscellaneous  collection  of  treasures  was  transferred,  only  to 
perish  a  short  while  after  in  the  disastrous  fire  which  de- 
stroyed the  building  and  its  fine  telescope. 

279 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

The  collection  of  coins,  which  had  not  been  removed  to 
the  observatory,  together  with  a  few  articles  which  somehow 
survived  the  conflagration,  formed  the  nucleus  of  a  new 
accumulation  ;  but  the  wanderings  of  the  museum  after  that 
date  might  form  the  subject  of  a  modern  Odyssey.  The 
indignity  with  which  it  was  hustled  about  suggests  that  it 
was  not  looked  upon  as  a  serious  institution.  First  it  was 
located  in  the  passage  at  the  head  of  the  boys'  staircase, 
near  the  cloister  outside  the  head -master's  room  ;  then  it 
found  a  habitat  in  the  "  hall,"  the  space  behind  the  stage 
of  the  *' palace."  As  this  was  a  common  passage,  and  also 
the  "property  room"  during  the  time  of  the  Christmas 
play,  the  treatment  accorded  to  the  exhibits  was  not 
respectful,  and  caused  friction  between  curator  and  play- 
teacher.  It  was  accordingly  moved  thence  in  1881  to  the 
room  under  the  old  chapel  formerly  used  as  the  community 
library,  then  as  its  refectory,  and  after  1867  as  the  philos- 
ophical instruments'  room,  and  now  the  billiard -room.  In 
1883  it  migrated  across  the  passage  to  the  present  room 
"  H,"  formerly  the  boys'  refectory,  and  now  used  for  boxing. 
In  1890  the  collection  was  moved  into  the  old  chapel, 
where  it  has  enjoyed  a  stability  of  domicile  hitherto  un- 
known in  its  chequered  career.  Thanks  to  the  valuable 
donations  of  friends,  and  the  capabilities  offered  by  the 
quondam  chapel  for  arranging  and  displaying  the  numerous 
exhibits,  never  before  has  the  museum  looked  so  much  like 
an  institution  for  imparting  knowledge  and  illustrating 
courses  of  useful  and  interesting  lectures,  and  so  fulfilling 
its  legitimate  ends. 

So  capable  a  naturalist  as  Dr.  St.  G.  Mivart  expressed 
his  satisfaction  at  the  value  and  more  than  ordinary  com- 
pleteness of  some  of  the  exhibits ;  indeed,  the  series  of 
Australian   mammals  and  of  sea-birds   would    do  credit   to 

280 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

any  collection.  Mr.  Edmund  Harting,  an  old  Gregorian  and 
a  noted  naturalist,  has  taken  considerable  interest  in  the 
Downside  museum,  and  has  given  valuable  help  and  advice 
to  its  curators. 

Petre  Library. 

When  the  school  premises  were  enlarged  by  the  important 
additions  erected  in  1873,  various  parts  of  the  older  build- 
ings were  set  at  liberty.  Thus  when  the  monks'  library 
was  transferred  to  its  new  quarters,  the  late  Lord  Petre 
devised  a  scheme  whereby  the  senior  boys  might  be  pro- 
vided with  an  excellent  reading-room  and  library.  With  the 
approval  of  the  prior,  old  "Paradise  Row  "was  to  be  sacri- 
ficed, despite  sentimental  regrets,  and  was  to  be  included  in 
the  space  allotted  to  the  projected  library,  thus  securing  for 
it  healthier  and  more  dignified  proportions ;  for  under  the 
rearrangement  of  plan,  it  was  to  have  a  height  of  20  feet, 
with  an  area  of  44  feet  by  18  feet.  The  work  of  demolition 
and  reconstruction,  undertaken  at  the  cost  of  the  monastery, 
proceeded  so  rapidly,  that  by  September  1876  the  new 
library  was  completed.  The  fitting  and  furnishing  was  the 
result  of  Lord  Petre's  own  good  taste;  and  the  cost  of  it 
was  defrayed  partly  by  him,  partly  by  the  generous  donations 
of  a  few  other  old  Gregorians  interested  in  the  improvement. 
The  fine  oak  bookcases,  tables,  and  chairs  were  for  the  most 
part  designed  by  Lord  Petre  himself,  as  were  also  the  pan- 
elled doors.  The  bookshelves  are  stocked  with  a  plentiful 
and  well-selected  supply  of  handsomely  bound  volumes  of 
history,  biography,  travel,  science,  art,  architecture,  ancient 
and  modern  literature,  and  other  departments  of  knowledge. 
The  contents  also  comprise  the  better  of  the  old  Sodality 
Library  books,  looking  for  the  most  part  sober  and  worn  amidst 
their  more  resplendent  surroundings.     A  Foundation   Fund 

281 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

was  raised,  and  generously  supported ;  and  the  names  of  the 
subscribers  to  it,  handsomely  blazoned  and  framed,  hang  on 
the  library  walls.  The  use  of  the  "  Petre  Library,"  as  it  is 
fittingly  called  after  him  to  whom  it  mainly  owes  its  existence, 
is  confined  to  the  first  twenty-five  boys  in  the  school.  It 
is  entirely  managed  by  a  committee  chosen,  three  times 
a-year,  by  the  members  from  amongst  their  own  number,  and 
a  president  and  a  librarian  selected  from  the  committee. 
By  this  quorum  the  library  is  controlled,  and  the  general 
result  does  credit  to  all  concerned.  The  rules  were  drawn 
up  by  Lord  Petre,  and  are  still,  in  the  main,  the  statute  law 
as  now  observed. 

A  solid  and  handsome  fireplace  embellished  with  carved 
coats  of  arms  further  adorns  this  fine  room.  The  upper 
lights  of  the  first  and  second  windows  portray  the  armorial 
bearings  of  the  founder,  as  also  of  the  Fleming  family,  but 
the  three  remaining  windows  still  await  appropriation.  Por- 
traits of  Abbot  Gasquet  and  of  Sir  John  Lambert,  and  four 
exquisite  chromo-lithographs,  help  to  adorn  the  walls ;  but 
there  is  still  needed  to  complete  the  furnishing  of  the  room 
a  good  likeness  of  the  late  Lord  Petre,  the  present  portrait 
being  merely  an  enlarged  photograph. 

One  relic  of  the  past  is  kept  in  the  Petre  Library.  On  the 
wall,  as  a  fitting  resting-place,  hangs  the  succession  roll  of 
the  Christmas  Kings  of  St.  Gregory's.  That  kingdom  has 
gone,  but  the  record  of  its  former  existence  is  there.  The 
"  King's  Card,"  as  it  was  called,  is  one  of  the  lesser  gifts  due 
to  Lord  Petre's  interest  in  St.  Gregory's,  and  which  he  had 
executed  in  very  handsome  illuminated  style,  on  the  occasion 
of  his  election  to  the  Throne  of  St.  Gregory's  in  1864.  At 
the  same  time  he  presented  the  Royal  Court  with  the  fine  oak 
throne  and  canopy  which  are  now  permanently  erected  in 
the  church  as  the  Abbot's  throne ;  and  also  the  crown  and 

282 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

the  king's  robes,  which,  alas  !  less  fortunate,  have  found  their 
way  to  the  stage  wardrobe. 

An  allusion  to  the  fruits  of  Lord  Petre's  generosity  was 
made  in  a  poem  written  by  the  late  Mr.  W.  Marsham  Adams, 
for  recitation  on  the  first  Exhibition  Day,  in  1877,  which 
deserves  recording : — 

"The  other  friend  shall  in  our  thoughts  have  place 
As  long  as  culture  sheds  on  us  a  grace  ; 
As  long  as  books  to  minds  can  find  a  voice, 
Or  weary  limbs  in  cooling  waves  rejoice." 


Journalism. 

The  saying  that  schools  are  but  worlds  in  miniature  has 
passed  into  a  proverb;  and  in  these  days,  when  the  world 
proper  expresses  its  opinions,  records  its  news,  and  airs  its 
grievances  in  the  press,  it  is  fitting  that  those  smaller  empires, 
oligarchies,  or  republics  called  schools  should  possess  their 
own  "chronicon  rerum  gestarum,"  their  own  mouthpieces,  in 
the  form  of  school  magazines.  Boys,  moreover,  should  have 
a  field  for  literary  beginnings.  The  school  magazine  provides 
an  outlet  for  the  exercise  of  undeveloped  talent,  and  stimu- 
lates the  ambition  of  youthful  authors. 

The  Doivnside  Review  and  the  Raven  may  both  be  con- 
sidered as  the  latter-day  evolution  of  prehistoric  school 
journalism ;  but  whereas  the  former  is  mainly  addressed  to 
old  Gregorians,  and  is  the  work  in  great  measure  of  old  boys, 
the  Raven  is  written  and  edited  entirely  by  the  boys  in  the 
school  under  the  censorship  of  a  master.  These  publications 
have  enjoyed  a  continuous  existence,  the  former  since  July 
1880,  the  latter  since  April  1884,  and  each  appears  three 
and  four  times  a -year  respectively.  They  have  had  many 
predecessors :  or  possibly  it  may  be  more  correct  to  say  their 

283 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

predecessors   appeared    intermittently  under   various    names. 
The  order  of  publication  and  of  nomenclature  is  as  follows  : 

1.  The  Wednesday  Mail  appeared  weekly  during  the 
greater  part  of  1815.  It  was  the  work  of  the  community 
only,  and  was  very  unambitious  in  its  get-up,  being  merely 
four  pages  of  closely  written  foolscap.  The  articles,  as  a 
rule,  took  the  form  of  letters  addressed  to  the  editor ;  and 
as  one  of  the  standing  orders  decreed  that  nothing  should  be 
written  by  any  one  in  his  character  of  a  member  of  the  Down- 
side community,  the  letters  and  articles  are  of  a  very  colour- 
less description,  being  mostly  little  essays  on  commonplace 
moral  and  literary  topics,  or  descriptions  of  everyday  episodes, 
or  mere  nonsense  and  chaff,  largely  interspersed  with  poetry. 

2.  The  Doivnside  Miscellany  :  also  a  weekly  journal.  Only 
a  few  stray  numbers  are  extant,  belonging  to  the  years  181 9, 
182 1,  and  1822.  Its  scope  was  similar  to  that  of  its  im- 
mediate predecessor. 

3.  The  Microcosm  was  a  monthly  magazine ;  but  only  four 
numbers  have  survived  :  one  of  1828,  and  the  other  three  of 
1829.  The  chief  point  of  interest  in  the  numbers  of  1829  is 
that  they  are  the  earliest  school  magazine  that  has  come  down 
to  us,  the  editors  and  contributors  being  E.  Athy,  E.  Eccles, 
J.  Carne,  and  J.  V.  Harting. 

4.  The  Downside  Magazine  was  also  a  monthly  publication. 
After  three  numbers  had  appeared  in  manuscript,  it  found  its 
way  into  print.  Fr.  Vincent  Dowding,  writing  to  Fr.  Hepton- 
stall  on  May  11,  1840,  said:  "I  was  surprised  to  receive  a 
journal  printed  by  the  students  of  St.  Greg.'s,  &c.  This  is  the 
march  of  Intellect."  The  title-page  of  the  May  number  for 
1840  bears  the  following  announcement :  "Downside,  Printed 
and  Published  by  the  Students."  Within  its  pages  it  is 
stated  that  "in  their  leisure  hours,  the  leading  students  of 
St.  Gregory's  are  employed  either  in  printing  our  Magazine, 

284 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND   GAMES 

which  is  a  very  laborious  operation ;  or  in  writing  for  it,  or 
else  in  practising  for  the  band."  It  is  hardly  an  affront  to  the 
memory  of  these  industrious  youths  to  state  that  the  result 
reflects  more  credit  on  their  energy  than  on  their  skill ;  and 
as  the  prefect  of  studies  evidently  found  that  the  "  march  of 
Intellect "  was  retarded  in  its  pace,  and  that  the  school-work 
was  suffering,  the  sixth  number  informs  us  through  the  medium 
of  its  title-page  that  although  it  is  "  published  by  the  students," 
a  lay  brother  had  undertaken  the  mere  manual  portion  of  the 
"  laborious  operation  "  of  its  production,  for  it  was  "  Printed 
by  N.  F.  Rea,  Downside  College,  Parish  of  Midsomer  Norton, 
Somersetshire."  It  is  not,  typographically,  an  aesthetic  treat 
to  the  eye.  It  continued  to  appear  during  1844  and  1845, 
though  no  copies  for  the  intervening  years — if  there  were  any 
— are  now  known  to  exist. 

5.  The  Literary  Magazine  was  the  work  of  the  boys  in  the 
higher  forms,  and  appeared  regularly  every  month  during 
1 8 70-1-2,  and  intermittently  from  1878  to  1883.  It  was  in 
manuscript. 

6.  Wild  Flowers  was  published  some  half-dozen  times  a- 
yearfrom  1870  to  1876,  and  then  monthly  from  1878  to  1883, 
by  the  middle  forms  of  the  school.  A  real  and  individual 
feature  of  the  volumes  of  this  production  was  the  good  illus- 
trations which  adorned  it  from  the  pen  and  pencil  of  the  boys, 
together  with  some  very  good  pen-and-ink  sketches  from  still 
more  experienced  artists. 

7.  These  last  two  magazines  are  now  represented  by  the 
Raven  ;  the  Downside  School  Magazine^  which  was  first  hatched 
in  April  1884,  in  journal  form  of  the  high-class  weekly  type, 
of  the  size  of  the  Spectator.  It  has  appeared  regularly  since 
it  first  started  up  to  the  present  time,  changing  only  its  out- 
ward form  in  1896  to  large  quarto.  It  occasionally  publishes 
illustrations    in  zinco  -  photography,   sometimes    views    round 

285 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

about  Downside,  groups  of  cricket  and  football  teams,  play 
groups,  &c.,  and  is  altogether  an  interesting  up-to-date  pro- 
duction. 

8.  Lastly,  there  is  the  Doivtiside  Review.  It  appeals  to  a 
totally  different  audience  than  do  the  other  magazines  men- 
tioned, being  intended  primarily  for  past  Gregorians,  and 
being  the  work  entirely  of  the  monks  and  of  laymen.  It 
is  now,  and  has  been  for  many  years,  the  property  and  the 
organ  of  the  St.  Gregory's  Society.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
observe  that  it  flourishes  at  the  present  day,  and  many  of  its 
articles  render  it  of  more  than  passing  value,  dealing  as  they 
do  with  subjects  outside  the  narrow  limits  of  merely  Down- 
side interests ;  many  of  them,  too,  being  from  the  pen  of 
men  of  literary  eminence. 

With  the  subject  of  school  magazines,  as  an  outward  ex- 
pression of  the  literary  aspirations  of  the  members  of  a  school, 
is  intimately  bound  up  that  of  Debating  Societies.  The 
Wedfiesday  Mail  preserves  for  us  the  fact  of  the  existence 
of  such  a  society  at  Downside  in  1815,  but  the  member- 
ship was  confined  to  the  community.  In  process  of  time 
similar  meetings  were  inaugurated  for  the  benefit  of  the 
boys,  and  the  records  of  such  efforts  exist  either  in  the 
reports  printed  in  the  school  magazines,  the  minute-books 
of  the  societies  themselves,  and  in  one  case  in  a  journal 
issued  by  the  Debating  Society  flourishing  in  the  middle  of 
last  century.  It  was  herein  that  the  idea  originating  in  Punchy 
and  illustrated  so  inimitably  by  "  Dicky  "  Doyle,  was  adapted 
to  local  use,  and  hence  there  have  been  preserved  to  us  the 
"  Manners  and  Customs  of  ye  Gentlemen  of  Downside  in  ye 
middle  of  ye  nineteenth  century,"  purporting  to  be  a  supple- 
ment to  "  Mr.  Pips  his  Diary."  The  letterpress  was  due  to 
the  facile  and  witty  pen  of  the  late  Abbot  Sweeney  :  the 
illustrations  were  done  by  the  late  Archbishop  Vaughan,  then 

286 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND   GAMES 

a  boy  of  sixteen  at  St.  Gregory's.  Like  so  many  of  these 
institutions,  the  Downside  Debating  Societies  languished  from 
time  to  time  ;  but  in  1874,  after  one  of  these  periods  of  abey- 
ance, a  revival  was  effected  through  the  energy  of  the  late 
Lord  Petre  under  the  name  of  the  "  Abingdon  Society." 
From  that  time  its  existence  may  be  said  to  have  been  con- 
tinuous and  on  the  whole  healthy,  though  it  has  suffered  from 
intermittent  intervals  of  languor. 

Debating  societies  lead  naturally  to  the  subject  of  libraries : 
for  without  an  armoury  there  can  be  no  supply  of  weapons  for 
attack  and  defence.  The  elder  boys  are  amply  provided  in 
this  respect  by  means  of  the  well  -  stocked  Petre  Library. 
During  the  eighties  and  nineties,  the  wants  of  the  boys  in  the 
middle  of  the  school  were  provided  for  by  two  "junior" 
libraries,  which  are  furnished  with  sufficient  books  suitable  to 
the  capacities  of  those  for  whose  use  they  are  intended,  and 
they  make  a  cosy  retreat  for  wet  and  cold  days. 

Downside  was  not  always,  however,  so  well  supplied  in 
these  respects,  for  prior  to  the  stimulus  given  by  the  creation 
of  the  Petre  Library,  the  only  means  of  acquiring  literary 
culture  were  those  afforded  by  the  "  Sodality  Library."  This 
was  open  to  the  members  of  the  sodality  only,  at  that 
time  confined  to  boys  belonging  to  the  two  first  classes.  If 
the  membership  by  right  was  too  small,  permission  was  granted 
to  vote  for  a  few  others  from  the  next  highest  class ;  it  was 
thus  very  select,  and  the  privilege  of  belonging  to  it  was  a 
great  object  of  ambition  and  much  coveted.  In  addition,  the 
prefect  had  a  small  collection  of  books  which  the  smaller  boys, 
and  in  fact  anybody,  could  borrow  on  payment  of  one  penny 
for  a  volume  :  it  was  known  as  the  Subscription  Library. 


287 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 


Gregorian  Society. 


In  1843  ^  meeting  was  held  in  London,  presided  over  by 
the  late  Dr.  Morris,  titular  Bishop  of  Troy,  and  attended  by 
many  old  Gregorians,  whereat  it  was  resolved  by  those  present 
to  constitute  themselves  into  a  society  for  the  purpose  of 
fostering  affection  towards  Alma  Mater,  and  enabling  the 
members  to  meet  together  at  least  once  a -year  to  renew 
acquaintance,  keep  up  good  fellowship,  and  by  their  united 
efforts  forward  the  interests  of  their  old  school.  The  under- 
taking commenced  in  the  most  enthusiastic  manner,  and  the 
good  resolutions  were  sealed  by  the  first  Gregorian  dinner 
held  at  Pagliano's  Hotel,  which  was  a  great  success.  The 
minute-book  of  this  society  is  in  the  archives  at  Downside, 
together  with  a  bundle  of  letters  referring  to  the  project,  many  of 
them  being  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  George  Durrant  of  Chelmsford, 
who  was  indefatigable  in  his  efforts  to  make  the  undertaking  a 
success.  From  one  cause  or  another,  it  languished  after  a 
few  years,  and  little  more  was  heard  of  the  society  till  1877, 
when  a  few  old  Gregorians  determined,  in  the  interest  of  St. 
Gregory's,  to  reorganise  the  moribund,  if  not  actually  defunct, 
association  of  old  Gregorians,  and  succeeded  in  restarting  it 
on  so  sound  a  basis  that  it  is  now  a  flourishing  and  useful 
society,  whose  specific  objects,  in  addition  to  those  of  the 
parent  society  of  1843,  include  the  encouragement  of  studies 
and  games  at  Downside  by  the  offer  of  prizes ;  the  diffusion 
of  news  of  the  school  through  the  channel  of  the  Downside 
Review ;  and  by  an  annual  meeting  to  afford  its  members 
an  opportunity  of  renewing  the  friendships  of  youth.  In  the 
days  of  the  Christmas  Court  of  St.  Gregory's,  the  hold  that 
event  had  on  the  hearts  of  all  those  who  had  taken  part 
in  it  was  so  strong  that  it  never  failed  to  draw  away  even  from 

288 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

their  family  circle  at  the  most  joyous  season  of  the  year  a 
number  of  "  old  boys  " — in  some  cases  year  after  year.  With 
the  abolition  of  that  historic  custom,  the  incentive  to  form  a 
gathering  at  Downside  was  in  some  measure  lost;  but  on 
the  introduction  of  a  Midsummer  Exhibition  Day  (the  first 
was  held  in  1877),  it  was  agreed  to  hold  the  Gregorian 
Society's  annual  general  meeting  and  dinner  simultaneously 
with  it.  This  combination  attracts  a  goodly  concourse  of  old 
boys  of  all  ages.  A  further  advantage  is  gained  by  this 
gathering  :  the  possibility  of  playing  an  annual  Past  v.  Present 
cricket  match.  As  the  Downside  gathering  can  rarely  secure  the 
attendance  of  busy  men  tied  by  their  professional  engagements, 
another  Gregorian  dinner  is  held  in  London  during  the  season. 
The  financial  and  other  interests  of  the  society  are  looked 
after  by  an  honorary  treasurer  and  secretary,  and  it  is  governed 
by  a  board  consisting  of  an  ex-officio  president  (the  Abbot  of 
Downside),  vice-presidents,  and  a  fairly  large  representative 
council.  The  subscription  was  at  first  fixed  at  los.  per 
annum  for  ordinary  and  extraordinary  members,  and  ^10 
for  life-members.  It  is  now  ^\  for  the  former,  and  ^10,  los. 
for  the  latter,  with  the  right  to  receive  a  copy  of  every  issue  of 
the  Downside  Review.  Meetings  of  the  council  are  held 
periodically  in  London.  The  labour  attached  to  the  honorary 
offices  of  treasurer  and  secretary  are  not  light;  the  yearly 
increasing  roll  of  members  is  due  almost  entirely  to  the 
unceasing  efforts  of  successive  secretaries,  and  the  collecting 
of  subscriptions  and  keeping  of  accounts  are  no  sinecure. 
When,  after  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  a  glance  back 
is  taken  at  the  career  of  the  society  and  the  manner  in  which 
it  has  attained  the  objects  of  its  existence,  the  wonder  is,  not 
that  the  first  society  should  have  fallen  into  abeyance,  but  that 
the  necessity  for  such  an  organisation  should  not  always  have 
been   apparent.       A   comparison   between  the  financial   and 

289  T 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

numerical  status  of  the  year  1877  with  that  disclosed  by  the 
report  for  1 900-1 901  may  not  be  without  interest,  as  shewing 
the  steady  advance  made  by  the  society  during  the  inter- 
vening period.  In  1877  there  were  106  ordinary  and  14 
life  members.  The  capital  account  was  ^^231,  and  the 
income  account  shews  ^95,  los.  6d.  ;  while  votes  and 
expenditure  absorbed  ^44,  los.  3d.  In  1901  the  numbers 
then  on  the  roll  of  the  society  were  321,  the  capital  account 
stood  at  ;£^864,  13s.  id.,  and  the  income  account  was 
^^236,  8s.  I  id.,  while  the  various  sums  voted  and  other 
expenses  came  to  ;£^i57,   4s.   7d. 

The  chaplain  of  the  society  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  saying 
Mass  for  the  welfare  of  the  society  and  of  all  its  members  on 
the  day  of  the  annual  general  meeting,  and  for  each  member 
at  his  decease,  notice  of  which  is  given  to  all  the  members. 

In  addition  to  the  annual  grants  voted  for  various  purposes 
by  the  society  to  encourage  studies,  athletics,  and  other 
matters  of  benefit  to  the  school,  there  is  one  of  which  special 
mention  must  be  made.  This  is  the  bestowal  of  the  Gre- 
gorian Society's  medal  on  the  boy  who  obtains  the  highest 
aggregate  of  marks  during  any  one  scholastic  year.  This,  the 
"  blue  ribbon  "  amongst  Downside  prizes,  may  not  be  obtained 
more  than  once  by  the  same  boy.  As  a  rule  such  an  event 
would  be  unlikely  to  occur ;  but  it  is  worthy  of  mention  that 
George  Heydon  qualified  for  it  three  years  in  succession,  in 
1897-98-99, — surely  a  unique  performance. 

The  design  adopted  for  the  medal  is  a  handsome  one, 
being  an  enlarged  restoration  from  a  small  medal  of  St. 
Gregory  the  Great  in  the  British  Museum,  executed  by 
Messrs  Wyon,  who  keep  the  matrices  and  provide  the  solid 
silver  medals  as  they  are  wanted.  The  obverse  displays  a 
profile  bust  of  the  great  pope  without  tiara  and  vested  in 
a    cope,    and    the    legend    round    the    inner    margin    of  the 

290 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 


rim  reads  :  SANCTVS  '  GREGORIVS  •  MAGNVS  •  PONT  • 
MAX.  The  reverse  contains  merely  a  singularly  effective 
inscription  composed  by  that  fine  classical  scholar,  the  late 
Mr  F.  A.  Paley,  which  reads  thus  :  OPTIME  •  MERITO  '  OB  • 
VIRTVTEM  •  DILIGENTIAM  •  DOCTRINAM  •  ALVMNO  • 
NOMISMA  •  HONORARIVM  •  DIVTVRNVM  •  CARITA- 
TIS  •  DOCVMENTVM  •  DONAVIT  •  STI  •  GREGORII  ' 
SOCIETAS.  The  name  of  the  recipient  is  engraved  around 
the  rim.  The  following  is  the  list  of  the  boys  who,  since 
1880,  when  it  was  first  bestowed,  have  gained  this  coveted 
distinction. 


1880. 
1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884. 
1885. 
1886. 
1887. 
1888. 
1889. 
1890. 
1891. 
1892. 

1893- 
1894. 
1895. 
1896. 
1897. 

1898. 
1899. 
1900. 

1901. 
1902. 


Gregorian  Medallists. 

John  Digan.  VI.  Form 

George  Hicks.  IV. 

Michael  Sweetman.  VI. 

Francis  Way.  VI. 

Richard  Kerin.  VI. 
Andrew  Bonaparte-Wyse.     V. 

Charles  Hansom.  IV. 

Harold  King.  IV. 

Denis  O 'Conor.  VI. 

Alfred  Beever.  VI. 

Percy  Hughesdon.  VI. 

Francis  Connolly.  V. 

Francis  Hughesdon.  VI. 

Ernest  Miller.  VI. 

Edward  Willett.  V. 

George  Baptist  Hicks.  VI. 

Fielding  Boyd.  VI. 

George  Heydon.  IV. 

(qualified  also  in  1898-99). 

Arthur  Young.  V. 

Francis  Staples.  V. 

Francis  MacDermot.  IV. 

(qualified  also  in  1902). 

Cyril  Cafterata.  IV. 

Joseph  Heydon.  VI. 
291 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

From  time  to  time,  friends  of  St.  Gregory's  have  offered 
special  prizes  for  specific  purposes.  The  most  notable  of 
these,  as  having  had  a  marked  effect  in  improving  the  study 
of  Greek,  was  one  of  ;^io,  los.,  offered  by  the  Right 
Honble.  Sir  John  Day,  P.C.  (an  old  Gregorian),  for  seven 
years,  to  be  given  each  year  to  the  boy  in  one  of  the  three 
upper  forms  who  should  obtain  the  highest  marks  in  Greek. 
The  winners  of  this  prize,  called  the  best  "  Grecians,"  have 
been  : — 

1878.  Randolph  Kilkelly.  VI.  Form 

1879.  John  Bethell.  IV. 

1880.  John  Digan.  VI. 

1 88 1.  Ilamish  Sweetman.  V. 

1882.  Anthony  Kynaston.  V. 

1883.  Richard  Kerin.  V. 

1884.  Lucien  Bonaparte-Wyse.       VI. 

Though  not  actually  coming  within  the  scope  of  St. 
Gregory's  Society,  mention  may  here  be  made  of  certain 
convivial  meetings  of  Gregorians  in  addition  to  the  annual 
dinner  held  under  its  auspices  in  London.  For  the  past 
few  years,  an  informal  gathering  of  old  Gregorians  has  taken 
place  at  some  appointed  restaurant  in  London  on  the  first 
Thursday  of  each  month  —  a  date  easily  remembered,  and 
cherishing  the  recollection  of  what  has  now  passed  away  from 
school-life  at  Downside  itself  except  in  name. 

So  many  "old  boys"  hail  from  the  Sister  Isle,  who  are 
thus  too  far  away  to  be  able  to  attend  the  Gregorian  dinners 
at  Downside  or  in  London,  that  they  have  inaugurated  an 
occasional  celebration  in  Dublin,  and  these  have  proved  a 
great  success. 

Tucks. 

The  uninitiated  reader  will  have  noticed  the  occasional 
use  of  the  word  tucks ;  this  pleasant  feature  of  life  at  Down- 

292 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

side  shall  be  described  mostly  in  the  words  of  Abbot  Snow, 
whose  delineations  of  schoolboy  fun  and  frolic  are  so  true 
to  nature. 

"  Generically,  tucks  include  everything  edible  that  boys  can 
prey  upon  between  ordinary  meals ;  specifically,  the  term  is 
here  restricted  to  certain  convivial  gatherings  with  feeding 
for  their  set  purpose  and  object.  They  ranked  in  estimation 
according  to  their  exclusiveness ;  the  fewer  the  mouths  the 
more  select  and  honourable  was  the  privilege  of  tucking  in, 
and  the  more  intense  the  sense  of  superiority  over  those 
in  the  outer  darkness  where  there  was  no  gnashing  of 
teeth." 

The  first  tucks  recorded  in  the  annals  of  Downside  went 
by  the  name  of  "  marriage  feasts,"  a  form  of  reward  for  the 
heroes  of  the  minor  examinations.  Another  variant  of  the 
generic  term  was  "  punch  night."  Three  times  in  the  year, 
on  Choosing  King  Night,  the  Prefect's  and  the  Prior's  feasts, 
the  whole  school  participated  in  a  comprehensive  tuck  in  the 
playroom.  "The  ingredients  of  the  feast  were  simple  enough. 
Trays  full  of  plum-duff — solid,  appetising,  satisfying,  with  no 
dearth  of  plums  —  ready  sliced  in  thick  manageable  hunks, 
were  carried  round.  James  Lea,  the  school  butler,  was  in 
charge  of  a  covered  can,  of  huge  dimensions,  of  the  steaming 
beverage  which  gave  name  to  the  symposium.  The  secret 
of  that  mixture  rests  with  the  procurator ;  how  much  spirit, 
how  many  lemons,  what  spices,  and  how  much  water  it  con- 
tained record  sayeth  not.  The  participants  were  no  exacting 
critics  and  connoisseurs,  accepted  the  decoction  as  ambrosial 
nectar,  and  sipped  it  slowly  with  the  nice  perception  and 
appreciation  due  to  a  reserved  cuvee."  The  school  band  was 
accustomed  to  discourse  sweet  music  in  the  intervals  of  the 
feast  on  these  festive  occasions.  "  Band  tucks  "  is  an  alter- 
native  term    for   the   old   punch    nights    of  a    bygone   day, 

293 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

but  both  have  been  replaced  by  other  forms  of  the  same 
basic  entertainment. 

The  festival  of  St.  Cecily,  patroness  of  music,  afforded  an 
opportunity  to  hold  a  special  tuck  for  the  members  of '  the 
choir,  to  whom  were  added  the  members  of  the  sacristy, 
augmented  by  the  monks  attached  to  the  choir,  the  sacristan, 
the  master  of  ceremonies,  and  last,  but  not  least  in  his  own 
estimation,  the  organ-blower.  This  tuck  being  essentially  the 
festival  of  the  musical  members  of  the  establishment,  songs 
were  the  order  of  the  evening. 

More  coveted  and  select  still  were  the  Examination  tucks, 
lineal  descendants  of  the  older  "  marriage  feasts,"  celebrated 
at  Advent  and  Easter.  At  a  later  period  these  two  tucks  were 
merged  in  one  held  after  the  Christmas  vacation,  and  took 
the  form  of  a  special  half  holiday  for  the  two  first  in  each 
class,  followed  by  a  high  tea  supplemented  by  the  orthodox 
tuck  later  in  the  evening ;  wherein  there  was  no  interruption 
of  song  or  speech,  with  the  exception  of  one,  traditional, 
time-honoured,  and  never  omitted.  The  last  and  smallest 
boy  enjoyed  the  privilege  (hardly  sufficiently  appreciated  by 
the  mover)  of  proposing  the  toast  of  the  evening  in  a  curt 
pithy  speech  in  Latin,  as  became  literati^ — that  of  "  Floreant 
studia."     There  was  an  extra  hour  of  sleep  next  morning. 

LONGLEAT. 

Many  an  old  Gregorian  treasures  up  happy  memories  of 
one  or  more  never-to-be-forgotten  outings  to  Sherewater,  a 
lake  situated  within  the  demesnes  of  the  Marquess  of  Bath, 
at  Longleat,  near  Warminster,  Wilts,  and  about  eighteen 
miles  distant  from  Downside.  Longleat  has  been  visited  on 
many  pleas  by  many  Downside  boys  ;  but,  par  excellence^ 
that    magic   word    "  Longleat "    conjures   up   recollections   of 

294 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

the  "  choir  journey."  For  a  long  term  of  years,  through  the 
unvarying  kindness  of  the  Marquesses  of  Bath,  the  boys  have 
been  granted  admission  to  the  park,  with  special  facilities  in 
the  use  of  boats  and  boathouse.  This  privilege  has  been 
accorded  to  St.  Gregory's  for  at  least  seventy  years,  perhaps 
longer.  It  is  on  record  that  alternative  expeditions  were 
made  to  Stourton  Park,  Bonham.  The  first  Thursday  in 
June  has  been  set  apart  by  prescription  for  this  outing,  which 
is  given  as  a  reward  to  members  of  the  choir  and  sacristy  for 
the  duties  performed  during  the  previous  year  in  their  re- 
spective spheres.  On  that  auspicious  morning  an  early  rise  is 
effected  at  4.30  ;  and  by  unvarying  tradition,  the  privileged 
"  emeriti "  draw  the  attention  of  the  caller-up  to  their  where- 
abouts in  the  dormitories  by  hanging  a  clothes-bag  over  the 
curtain  of  their  bed-places.  A  Mass,  for  the  party  at  5  a.m.  is 
followed  by  a  hurried  refection — a  real  break-fast.  By  6,  all 
are  ready  for  a  start  in  a  brake-and-four  from  the  old  house 
porch,  and  rousing  are  the  cheers,  deafening  the  tootling  of 
horns,  with  which  they  announce  to  all  and  sundry  that  the 
great  day  has  begun  for  them,  and  all  still  in  bed  are  mere 
sluggards,  whom  it  is  their  bounden  duty  to  arouse  from  un- 
timely slumbers.  ,  And  right  well  do  they  acquit  themselves 
of  their  task.  Through  Holcombe  and  Pitcot,  Coleford  and 
Vobster,  past  the  charming  village  of  Mells  with  its  lovely  church 
and  tower  and  interesting  old  manor-house  speeds  the  brake  to 
Frome,  where  a  change  of  horses  hurries  them  along  past  the 
superb  front  of  Longleat  House,  through ."  Heaven's  Gate  " 
— a  scene  to  be  gazed  at  in  silence,  not  to  be  described-^ 
and  so  on  to  the  border  of  the  lake,  where  a  plentiful  hot 
breakfast  awaits  the  hungry  but  happy  youngsters.  Fishing 
and  boating,  bathing  and  bird-nesting,  fill  in  the  intervals 
between  breakfast  and  dinner,  dinner  and  tea,  tea  and  a  last 
snack  before  commencing  the   return  journey,   enlivened  all 

295 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

the  way  by  song  and  tale,  quip  and  jest,  and  cheering  at  any 
and  every  opportunity,  or  for  no  reason  at  all,  from  mere 
exuberance  of  enjoyment  and  animal  spirits ;  all  this  accom- 
panied by  a  running  obbligato  on  the  horn.  The  fun  has 
been  known  to  be  occasionally  enlivened  by  a  somewhat  one- 
sided battle  with  the  "  Johns  "  of  Pitcot,  who  lay  in  ambush 
for  the  Downside  party  at  a  turn  of  the  road,  and  pelted  the 
"  homers  "  with  sods  while  they  were  in  range.  Peashooters 
had  little  chance  against  artillery  of  such  heavy  calibre  at 
close  range.  Ringing  cheers  heralded  the  arrival  at  the 
school  gates  and  the  old  house  porch;  and  a  hasty  supper 
followed  by  a  grateful  sleep  closes,  each  year,  one  of  the 
happiest  incidents  of  Downside  school  life. 

The  Fire-Brigade. 

When  the  scheme  of  the  new  waterworks  was  completed 
in  1888,  it  was  due  to  Prior  Ford's  foresight,  and  under  the 
personal  supervision  of  Dom  Philip  Whiteside,  that  an  elab- 
orate system  of  fire  appliances — alarms,  hydrants,  hose,  &c. — 
was  installed  throughout  the  monastery  and  the  school.  In 
addition,  a  further  guarantee  of  security  was  obtained  by  the 
organisation  among  the  elder  boys  of  an  efficient  fire-brigade, 
carefully  drilled  in  the  duties  likely  to  be  required  of  them 
in  their  capacity  of  firemen  in  case  of  an  outbreak.  Since 
that  time,  however,  a  more  permanent  staff  of  firemen  has  been 
formed  amongst  the  Downside  employees.  The  need  for 
such  an  institution  may  be  illustrated  by  a  recapitulation  of 
the  various  fires  with  which  St.  Gregory's  has  had  to  battle 
since  its  settlement  at  Downside,  and  which,  fortunately,  have 
been  suppressed,  with  the  exception  of  that  which  gutted  the 
Observatory,  without  serious  damage  or  mishap. 

First  in  point  of  time  was  a  fire  which  broke  out,  in  1827,  in 

J296 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

the  newly  built  school,  but  which  was  extinguished  before 
much  damage  was  done.  In  i860  another  was  discovered  in 
the  kitchens,  then  situated  in  the  old  farmhouse  at  the  back 
of  the  present  guest-house.  In  1867  came  the  total  de- 
struction of  the  Observatory,  described  elsewhere.  In  1876, 
almost  immediately  after  the  new  monastery  had  been  occupied, 
a  fire  broke  out  in  one  of  the  rooms,  but  was  observed  soon 
enough  to  be  extinguished  in  a  few  moments.  Owing  to  the 
large  quantity  of  pitchpine  used  in  the  woodwork  of  the 
monastery,  a  fire  there  would  always  be  a  source  of  terrible 
danger.  In  September  1886  the  old  "top  dormitory"  was 
somehow  set  alight,  and  considerable  damage,  mostly  to  boys' 
clothes,  was  caused  before  the  outbreak  was  discovered  and 
subdued.  This  fire  was  followed  in  1888  by  another  which, 
appropriately  enough,  broke  out  on  November  5.  It  occurred 
in  the  monastery  library,  wherein  considerable  injury  was 
done  to  a  valuable  collection  of  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
century  devotional  and  controversial  works.  The  conflagration 
threatened  to  assume  serious  proportions,  but  through  the 
energy  of  the  monks,  who  by  a  fortunate  chance  were  as- 
sembled together  near  at  hand  when  the  alarm  was  given, 
it  was  confined  to  the  end  of  one  room,  and  extinguished 
before  further  and  probably  irreparable  damage  to  building 
or  contents  had  been  caused. 

In  January  1895  a  fire  was  discovered  in  the  old  farmhouse 
near  the  scene  of  the  outbreak  of  i860,  but  the  hydrants  were 
successfully  brought  to  bear  upon  it.  Yet  again,  in  1896,  the 
new  dormitory  was  in  jeopardy.  It  appears  that  a  match  lying 
on  the  floor  became  ignited  by  a  box  being  dragged  over  it. 
In  a  remarkably  short  space  of  time  one  of  the  bed-curtains 
near  at  hand  was  burning  fiercely ;  but  as  servants  were  close 
by,  their  united  efforts  subdued  the  outbreak.  Little  damage 
resulted,   but  had  the  fire  not  been  at  once  detected,  it  is 

297 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

probable  that  the  whole  block  would  have  been  doomed,  from 
the  inflammable  nature  of  the  pitchpine  which  predominates  so 
largely  in  the  construction,  decoration,  and  furnishing  of  this 
fine  room  and  of  the  refectory  below. 

That  same  year,  on  November  1 7,  another  fire  broke  out  in 
the  basement  of  the  old  farmhouse.  It  was  soon  located,  arid 
the  members  of  the  fire-brigade  were  so  quickly  on  the  scene 
that  they  succeeded  in  preventing  it  from  sf)reading,  notwith- 
standing the  age  and  rottenness  of  the  timbers  implicated; 
but  as  the  alarms  were  set  ringing  all  over  the  establishment, 
there  was  considerable  excitement  till  the  exact  nature  of  the 
outbreak  became  known.  Since  that  date  the  old  farmhouse, 
which  has  proved  so  fruitful  a  source  of  danger,  has  been 
demolished. 

Club  Day. 

An  annual  celebration  well  known  to  all  generations  of 
Gregorians  is  that  of  "  Club  Day."  This  was  the  festival  of 
the  local  club  or  guild,  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
viding the  villagers  with  help  in  sickness.  It  was  attended 
by  all  the  members  and  many  friends,  "all  the  fun  of  the 
fair"  being  provided  for  their  amusement,  and  the  festivities 
winding  up  with  a  dinner.  During  the  course  of  the  day 
it  has  been  the  invariable  custom  of  the  villagers  to  walk 
in  procession  to  the  old  house  and  there  to  serenade  the 
"gentlemen  of  the  college"  with  the  sweet  strains  of  their 
hired  band.  It  is  a  tribute  to  the  cordial  relations  which 
have  ever  existed  between  the  inmates  of  Downside  and  their 
humble  dependants.  Each  year's  celebration  is  so  like  that 
of  its  predecessors  that  the  description  of  one  stands  for  all. 
Mr.  Pips  received  such  a  description  from  his  observant  son, 
and  its  reproduction  in  these  pages  will  serve  the  double 
purpose  of  chronicling  an  annual  event  in  Downside  school- 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

life  and  of  preserving  a  humorous   contribution   to  the   old 
Downside  Debating  Magazine.     And  now  for  Mr.  Pips. 

^''Manners  and  Customs  of  ye  Gentlemen  of  Downside  in  ye 
.:  ^  middle  of  ye  Nineteenth  Century, 

^^  Being  a  supplement  to  Mr.  Pips,  his  Diary. 

"Once  more  have  I  received  an  epistle  from  my  Sonne,  in 
which,  after  stating  to  me  that  the  vacation  is  waxing  nigh 
(which  I  knew  full  well  before),  and  that  all  his  clothes  are 
waxing  old  (which  I  knew  not  before),  he  informs  me  as 
follows  :  '  We  have  just  been  keeping  with  much  solemnity 
ye  Holy  Festival  of  Corpus  Christi,  and  it  being  ye  Club  Day 
of  ye  village  of  Stratton  on  ye  Fosse,  'twas  also  celebrated  as 
a  day  of  much  mirth  and  jollity  by  ye  natives  of  that  village. 
All  day  long  is  to  be  heard  great  beating  of  drums  and  blast- 
ing of  horns,  which  they  tell  me  is  meant  for  music,  though  I 
sometimes  thought  'twas  distant  thunder,  sometimes  the  bellow- 
ing of  an  ox.  At  last,  in  ye  afternoon,  all  ye  members  of  ye 
club  and  ye  band  of  music  did  march  in  grand  parade  to  ye 
front  of  ye  College,  and  after  much  "rotatory"  moving  did 
draw  up,  and  through  respect  for  ye  gentlemen  of  ye  College, 
I  ween,  did  serenade  us  with  divers  tunes,  the  names  of  which 
I  know  not,  though  a  friend  of  mine  did  tell  me  one  was  the 
ditty  whereof  ye  old  cow  did  expire,  with  sundry  variations. 
At  one  time  they  did  play  what  seemed  not  unlike  "Rule 
Britannia,"  and  ye  leader  being  asked  by  a  wag  near  me  to 
play  ye  same  tune  again  in  Greek,  he  diti  seem  much  puzzled 
thereat.  'Twas  marvellous  to  see  how  hard  they  did  blow 
and  blast,  till  I  expected  almost  to  see  them  blow  their  horns 
straight,  and  I  wondered  greatly  how  they  could  keep  it  up  so 
long,  thinking  they  would  never  finish.  Then  did  one  man 
slip  forward,  and,  with  his  hat  in  his  hand,  did  call  upon  all  to 

299 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

give  "no  more  and  no  less  than  three  cheers  for  the  gentlemen 
of  Downside  College,"  the  which  were  given,  but  not  with  the 
same  power  as  they  did  play  their  horns.  They  ought,  me- 
thinks,  to  come  to  college  to  learn  to  shout,  for  ye  laddes 
here  would  shout  them  all  dumb  in  no  time.  To  hear  us 
shout  when  we  get  an  extra  holiday  (which,  by  the  way, 
happeneth  rarely)  'twould  make  you  marvel  where  we  got 
our  voices  from.  Lastly,  the  band  did  play  "God  save  the 
Queen,"  and  did  march  away  afterwards  as  they  came.  All 
night  long  they  did  continue  playing,  and  at  what  time  they 
ceased  I  know  not.'  Thus  writeth  my  sonne,  and  as  he  is 
going  to  work  with  much  diligence  to  prepare  his  examinations, 
he  giveth  me  to  understand  that  he  will  for  the  present  write 
no  more." 

Games. 

Cricket. — An  English  school  without  cricket  would  be  an 
anomaly  :  and  so  even  on  a  foreign  soil  and  in  the  eighteenth 
century  we  find  mention  of  its  existence  at  St.  Gregory's  in 
Douay  ;  and  this,  as  well  as  more  important  matter,  emphasises 
how  thoroughly  national  was  the  spirit  of  the  exiled  school, 
and  how  the  memories  of  home  clung  to  them  amidst 
strangers.  The  records  of  Acton  Burnell  do  not  furnish  any 
specific  mention  of  the  national  game,  but  who  on  account  of 
that  omission  would  doubt  of  its  existence  in  the  dales  of 
Shropshire  ?  The  history  of  Downside  cricket,  too,  carries  us 
back  into  the  haziness  of  the  past.  Like  all  ancient  history, 
the  records  of  distant  generations  grow  confused,  and  all  we 
learn  of  those  far-off  days  belonging  to  the  beginnings  of  St. 
Gregory's  in  its  Downside  home  is  from  one  who  was  in  the 
school  during  the  second  decade  of  last  century,  and  not 
many  years  ago,  shortly  before  his  death,  recalled  in  his 
reminiscences  that  "there  was  some  good  batting  and  bowl- 

300 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

ing,  though  we  were  not  armed  with  greaves  or  shod  with  the 
correct  chaussure  of  the  present."  Leaving  archaic  cricket  to 
the  treatment  of  professed  antiquaries,  rehable  history  begins 
about  1830,  and  the  same  system  of  game  as  prevailed  then 
continued  till  1867,  To  this  period  we  may  give  the  name 
of  early  cricket ;  while  from  the  latter  date  the  game  has  in  all 


CRICKET   GROUND   AND    PAVILION 


respects  followed  the  M.C.C.  rules.  Details  no  doubt  varied, 
and  at  times  improvements  were  made,  but  during  that  period 
the  game  preserved  the  same  features,  the  same  rules,  the 
same  organisation.  The  main  characteristic  consisted  in  a 
certain  fixity  of  tenure  in  the  field,  each  member  of  the  eleven 
retaining  the  same  place  throughout  the  entire  game.  The 
bowlers  stood  at  their  respective  wickets,  acting  alternately 
as  bowler  and  wicket-keeper,  and  a  change  of  bowlers  rarely 
occurred  during  a  game.     Overs  were  not  dreamt  of,  the  balls 

301 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

being  delivered  from  that  wicket  to  which  they  had  been 
thrown  in  from  the  field.  The  nomenclature  of  the  fields 
also  was  eminently  simple  and  realistic,  and  being  purely  local 
requires  a  knowledge  of  the  local  disposition  of  parts  to  be 
intelligible.  Thus,  though  "long,"  "short,"  "middle,"  "up," 
"  down,"  "  in  "  are  comprehensible  enough,  "  the  middle  up 
or  chestnut  fag"  and  "middle  down  or  library  window  fag" 
would  require  explaining  at  Lord's;  so,  too,  for  "long  fag 
(up),"  "in  fag,"  "short  fag,"  "long  fag  (down),"  and  "leg 
fag."  Nor  would  it  in  every  case  be  easy  to  translate  these 
fields  into  present-day  equivalents,  for  positions  have  much 
altered  with  the  introduction  of  round-arm  and  over-arm  swift 
bowling.  During  the  period  of  early  cricket  under-arm  bowl- 
ing prevailed  exclusively,  assuming  in  the  language  of  the  day 
the  form  of  "lobs,"  " blockholers,"  "hoppers,"  and  "grounders 
or  sneaks."  Hitting  of  all  description  came  under  the  com- 
prehensive and  generic  term  of  "  swiping." 

The  bat  of  the  early  period  excelled  in  strength  if  not  in 
elegance.  Fashioned  by  a  local  carpenter  from  general  in- 
structions, it  was  square-shouldered,  with  a  rigid  unyielding 
handle,  and  lasted  for  many  seasons.  The  bat  most  favoured 
received  the  endearing  name  of  "stumpy,"  but  in  course  of 
time  it  and  its  fellows  were  ousted  by  interlopers  of  willow, — 
regulation  bats  with  cane  handles.  Private  enterprise,  too, 
was  responsible  at  last  for  the  introduction  of  "pads"  and 
the  other  paraphernalia  of  orthodox  cricket,  but  it  was  long 
before  Downside  conservative  instincts  would  tolerate  them 
or  admit  their  necessity.  The  final  adoption  of  modern 
cricket  was  effected  through  the  acceptance  of  a  challenge 
from  Prior  Park  in  1866.  That  classic  meeting  ended,  amidst 
scenes  of  the  wildest  enthusiasm,  in  a  victory  for  Downside. 
But  the  contrast  presented  by  the  rival  teams.  Prior  Park  quite 
up-to-date  in   spotless    flannels,   and   the    Gregorians    in    the 

302 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

motley  array  to  which  they  had  hitherto  been  accustomed, 
made  it  imperative  that  something  should  be  done  to  put  the 
home  team  on  a  footing  of  sartorial  equality  with  their  oppon- 
ents. That  something  was  done  after  anxious  discussion  and 
deliberation  by  the  formation  of  the  Downside  Cricket  Club, 
which  found  itself  ready  in  all  respects  to  meet  the  engage- 
ments of  its  first  season  in  1867.  Its  triumphs  and  its  fail- 
ures make  too  long  a  story  for  these  pages,  and  may  be 
sought  for  in  the  scoring-sheets  of  the  past  and  the  reports 
of  the  Raven.  But  a  few  words  ought  to  be  devoted  to  the 
annual  contest  with  Prior  Park,  which  took  place,  with  hardly 
any  exception,  once  each  year  at  each  school,  and  created  an 
interest  and  friendly  rivalry  to  be  compared  {parva  si  licet  I) 
to  that  existing  between,  say,  Eton  and  Harrow.  In  all,  47 
matches  have  been  played,  resulting  for  Downside  in  30  won, 
16  lost,  and  i  drawn.  The  first  match  took  place  in  1866, 
the  last  in  1895,  when  the  fixture  fell  through  on  the  passing 
of  Prior  Park  out  of  the  hands  of  the  bishop  of  the  diocese. 
For  unexplained  reasons  there  were  no  matches  played  between 
the  schools  in  1875  and  1880.  The  first  thirteen  matches 
were  won  by  Downside  in  unbroken  succession,  and  Prior 
Park  won  the  last  match  played.  A  few  of  the  contests  stand 
out  for  special  mention  on  account  of  some  notable  feature. 
Thus  in  the  return  match  of  1867,  Prior  Park  on  a  fine  day 
and  on  a  good  wicket  were  all  out  for  17  ;  the  weather  then 
changed  :  rain  fell,  and  on  a  slippery  wicket  the  Gregorians 
just  managed  to  top  their  opponents'  score.  In  1874,  Prior 
Park  got  rid  of  us  in  the  first  mnings  for  the  miserable  total 
of  9,  and  in  1876  they  scored  276  to  our  50.  In  1882, 
Prior  Park's  score  was  but  20,  all  from  one  bat,  so  that  this 
match  figured  in  Lillywhite  among  the  curiosities  of  the  season, 
and  has  since  gone  by  the  name  of  the  "duck  match."  In 
1889,  through  some  misunderstanding,    "time"   was   called 

303 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

when  the  score  was  a  tie  on  all  four  innings,  some  two 
minutes  before  the  hour  originally  determined  upon  for  the 
drawing  of  stumps ;  the  match  was  consequently  decided 
against  us  by  three  wickets  on  the  first  innings ;  whereas, 
had  the  full  time  been  played  out,  our  boys,  who  were  at 
the  wickets,  would  in  all  probability  have  secured  the  "  single  " 
needed  to  place  victory  to  our  credit. 

It  is  only  to  be  expected  that  amongst  the  many  members 
of  visiting  teams  who  have  played  against  Downside  have 
been  included  gentlemen  noted  for  their  prowess  with  bat 
and  ball.  Thus  in  1870,  Dr.  G.  F.  Grace,  brother  of  "W. 
G.,"  played  against  us  on  our  ground  for  Clifton  First  XI., 
and,  strange  to  relate,  the  match  ended  in  a  tie  :  Downside's 
most  remarkable  cricket  performance  ;  Townsend,  Bush,  and 
Trask  are  also  well-known  names.  Downside's  contribution 
to  first-class  cricket  comprises  Sir  T.  C.  O'Brien,  well-known 
a  few  years  ago  in  connection  with  Oxford  University  and 
Middlesex ;  whilst  more  recently  Capt.  Glennie  Greig  has 
played  well  in  India  and  for  Hampshire. 

Bat-and-Ball. — A  game  almost  peculiar  to  Downside  is 
bat-and-ball.  In  its  general  character  it  may  be  likened  to 
racquets,  but  the  bat  is  different  in  shape  and  material.  The 
game  is  played  against  a  high  smooth  wall  with  angles  at  the 
extremities,  by  four  players,  two  a-side.  The  balls  are  be- 
tween I  y(^  and  I  y^  inches  in  diameter,  made  of  worsted 
covered  with  leather,  and  manufactured  by  the  boys  them- 
selves. A  good  ball  has  plenty  of  spring  and  "life"  in  it, 
and  under  the  management  of  a  skilful  player  can  be  made 
to  travel  a  great  distance.  The  bats  are  constructed  of  a 
single  ash-stick,  having  a  round  handle  working  off  to  a  flat 
shank  about  ^  of  an  inch  thick,  terminating  in  a  pear- 
shaped  blade  about  5  inches  long  by  3)^  to  4  inches  wide, 
and  at  the  base  close  on  i  inch  thick.     The  full  length  of  a 

304 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,    AND    GAMES 

bat  is  about  2  feet  3  inches.  This  construction  gives  it  great 
suppleness  and  htheness.  The  strokes  are  made  with  a 
downward  sweep  of  the  arm.  This  game  was  played  at 
Douay,  found  a  temporary  asylum  at  Acton  Burnell,  and  has 
its  home  at  Downside,  where  it  retains  its  hold  on  the  affec- 
tions of  the  young  generation,  notwithstanding  the  rival 
claims  of  tennis  and  other  modern  games.  Prior  to  1853, 
the  "  ball  place "  was  situated  where  the  present  study  room 


THE    BALL-PLACE 


now  stands,  flanked  by  some  handsome  sycamore  trees. 
When  it  had  to  make  way  for  buildings,  it  was  replaced  by 
the  present  handsome  structure,  which,  after  close  on  fifty 
years'  service,  shews  evident  signs  of  a  tendency  to  crack  down 
some  of  the  angles ;  but  is  otherwise  in  an  excellent  state  of 
repair.  It  forms  quite  a  feature  of  Downside  scenery;  but 
its  purpose  invariably  needs  explaining  to  the  uninitiated. 
Football  and  Minor   Games.  —  Of    other    games    football 

305  u 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

holds  premier  position,  by  reason  of  the  favour  in  which  it 
is  held  nowadays.  This  is  in  keeping  with  past  tradition, 
for  Sir  John  Lambert  has  put  it  on  record  that  it  was  the 
favourite  in  the  twenties  of  last  century.  Its  place  in  Down- 
side public  estimation  has,  however,  been  variable.  In  for- 
mer days  the  rules  observed  may  be  classified  as  home-made. 
For  many  decades  it  was  customary  for  the  whole  school  to 
join  in  one  common  game,  wherein  small  boys  fared  but  in- 
differently. When  the  numbers  became  unmanageably  big 
for  such  a  single  game,  the  school  was  divided  into  two  or 
more  sets  of  teams.  In  the  supplement  to  "  Mr.  Pips  his  diary," 
from  which  some  quotations  have  been  already  borrowed,  a 
portion  of  the  text  is  accompanied  by  a  sketch  "shewynge 
ye  game  of  footballe"  as  played  in  1850,  which  well  illus- 
trates the  Downside  game  that  held  sway  for  so  many  years. 
The  sketch  in  question  is  perhaps  somewhat  rude  and  archaic 
in  character,  but  is  full  of  life  and  vigour  in  the  details.  The 
earnest  faces  of  the  players  are  well  expressed,  and  the  atti- 
tudes are  realistic.  On  either  side  are  upreared  the  tall  posts 
of  the  goals,  some  twenty  feet  high,  on  the  top  of  one  of 
which  a  solemn  rook  perches,  stolidly  gazing  on  the  scene 
beneath.  A  "  scrimmage "  is  at  its  height :  arms  uplifted, 
legs  entangled ;  and  there  are  not  wanting  indications  that 
some  of  the  players  have  not  escaped  unscathed.  Over  the 
wall  of  the  sunk  road  at  the  top  of  the  lawn  appear  the  heads 
of  some  yokels.  In  the  background  the  artist  has  introduced 
"  some  pygges,"  and,  as  if  to  call  attention  to  a  common 
feature,  in  the  foreground  are  "  more  pygges." 

The  text  which  is  thus  illustrated  takes  the  form  of  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Pips  from  his  youthful  son.  An  extract  will  here 
suflfice :  "  Last  Thursday,  being  ye  first  Thursday  of  ye 
month,  we  commenced  ye  game  of  footballe,  which  I  did 
not  much   enjoy.      But  in  ye  evening  it  being  grown  some- 

306 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

what  dark,  some  laddes  did  come  to  tell  me  I  was  to  go 
with  others  some  to  procure  oil  for  ye  lampes  of  ye  goal 
posts.  At  this  I  did  marvel  wondrous  greatly,  for  no  lamps 
did  I  see,  nor  could  I  picture  to  myself  ye  reason  for  such 
doings.  But  one  kick  given  to  me  from  behinde  did  explain 
the  reason  and  clear  up  my  hesitation,  and  I  did  sally  forth 
in  quest  of  ye  oil.  We  did  go  to  ye  house  of  Mr  Coxe, 
ye  shoemaker,  but  from  him  we  could  find  neither  oil  nor 
newes  whither  to  repair  for  it.  At  length  when  we  returned 
home  with  bad  success  we  found  all  ye  laddes  gone  within, 
and  for  having  gone  away  without  ye  leave  of  ye  prefect  we 
were  sentenced  to  muche  learning  of  lines,  to  ye  amusement 
of  those  who  had  made  us  fooles.  Never  mind,  I  shall 
remember  the  oil  next  year,  and  ye  argument  from  behind 
to  show  ye  necessity  of  fetching  it." 

The  incident  serves  to  recall  the  dirty  duty  imposed  on 
the  small  boys  of  scraping  and  regreasing  the  ball  after  a 
game,  in  the  rough  old  days. 

Mr.  Pips'  diary  is  a  useful  mine  of  information  concerning 
the  doings  of  the  past,  and  another  extract  will  give  a  vivid 
picture  of  playtime  at  Downside,  not  only  in  1850,  but 
at  any  other  period.  It  is  No.  2  of  the  "  Manners  and 
Customs,"  and  is  entitled  "Ye  sportes  of  ye  students  of 
St.  Gregory  his  College."  We  are  to  suppose  that  Mr.  Pips 
is  on  a  visit  to  Downside  during  the  autumn  term,  and  these 
are  his  experiences.  "  Weather  being  fine  did  rise  early 
to  have  some  of  ye  fresh  air  of  ye  Mendip  before  breakfast. 
Did  walk  in  Front  of  ye  College,  where  did  see  some  of  ye 
students  running  about  in  great  merriment ;  it  being  what 
they  call  ye  First  Thursday,  when  they  have  no  studies 
before  breakfast ;  which  I  did  hear  one  say  was  '  jolly  fun.' 
Did  observe  some  playing  at  what  they  called  '  I  spye.' 
Some  did  hide  behind  walls  and  trees,  and  others  some  did 

307 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

go  with  great  cunning  and  slyness  to  spye  them  out.  Droll 
it  was  to  see  a  ladde  putting  his  cappe  with  his  hand  behinde 
a  corner :  which  one  hiding  there  did  mistake  for  a  head 
and  did  run  out,  but  being  disappointed  did  cause  much 
mirth  to  ye  others.  Did  see  a  little  farther  on  something 
which  did  seem  much  like  a  gallows,  with  ropes  and  poles 
hanging  down.  Did  understand  'twas  a  Gymnasium.  Saw 
many  laddes  climbing  about  ye  poles  and  ropes  ;  which  did 
remind  me  much  of  ye  monkeys  in  the  Regent  his  Park. 
Mr.  Wagstaffe  did  note  besides,  that  boys  are  something  like 
monkeys  for  other  reasons  besides  being  skilful  in  ye  art  of 
climbing.  After  much  pleasure  in  seeing  these  pastimes,  did 
go  into  ye  breakfast  with  hearty  appetite ;  which  repast  con- 
cluded, we  were  invited  to  join  a  game  of  Football,  and, 
though  much  afraid  of  our  shinnes,  did  go  forth  to  ye  lawn. 
Were  greeted  with  much  shouting  from  ye  laddes,  who 
seemed  filled  with  glee.  At  first  could  not  think  it  much 
sporte  to  be  kicking  a  large  leather  ball  and  to  get  more 
kickes  than  we  gave.  But  by  degrees  we  waxed  warmer 
and  entered  with  much  spirit  into  ye  game.  Did  marvel 
much  to  see  huge  kickes  by  which  ye  ball  did  fly  with  great 
violence  through  the  air.  Droll  to  see  some  running  and 
bouncing  ye  ball,  and  chased  by  many  others.  Immense 
clamouring  when  ye  ball  was  kicked  or  forced  through  ye 
posts,  and  each  time  it  was  thus  kicked  or  forced  did  count 
one  goal.  Did  think  to  be  brave  and  try  to  take  a  goal, 
but  found  it  not  very  easy,  for  did  get  so  many  digges  in  ye 
ribs  and  so  many  kickes  in  the  shinnes  that  did  think  it 
more  prudent  to  double  my  distance  from  ye  goal.  'Twas 
wonderful  to  see  two  antagonists  meet  each  other  in  front 
with  full  force,  and  neither  seemed  hurt ;  methought  the  legs 
and  bodies  of  ye  boys  were  made  of  iron.  Did  much  admire 
to  hear  some  words  used  by  the  laddes,  which  before  I  do 

308 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

not  remember  to  have  heard  spoken.  But  especially  did 
note  a  great  love  for  ye  word  "jolly,"  which  methinks  they 
did  use  with  much  differency  of  meaning.  One  did  say  ye 
game  of  football  was  "  a  jolly  spree  "  ;  which  did  understand 
for  good  sporte.  Another  one  receiving  ye  ball  with  great 
force  full  in  ye  face,  did  say  he  had  "a  jolly  paste  in  ye 
eye " ;  which  did  understand  for  a  sadde  blow  in  ye  face. 
At  length  when  ye  prefect  did  clap  ye  hands  for  a  signal 
to  cease  ye  game,  there  was  much  huzzaing  on  all  sides,  and 
many  did  exclaim  they  would  "pegge  into  a  jolly  good 
dinner,"  which  I  suppose  did  mean  they  would  make  a  hearty 
meal.  I  also,  being  much  fatigued  and  feeling  great  stiffness 
in  my  limbs,  did  think  ye  same ;  and  so  into  ye  house,  where 
did  expect  with  eagerness  ye  time  of  dinner." 

While  Mr.  Pips  is  making  his  well-earned  hearty  meal 
an  opportunity  is  given  to  state  that  when  the  home-made 
regulations  under  which  Mr.  Pips  made  acquaintance  with 
football  were  abandoned  in  favour  of  Association  rules,  more 
interest  was  taken  in  the  chief  winter  game,  and  the  possi- 
bility of  playing  out  matches  came  within  the  range  of  prac- 
tical politics.  Greater  skill  was  aimed  at  and  attained,  and 
Downside  has  quite  held  its  own  in  matches  with  visiting 
teams. 

Of  other  games  in  vogue  at  one  time  or  another  at  Down- 
side, some  still  being  in  fashion,  others  obsolete,  mention  may 
be  made  of  a  variety,  peculiar  to  Downside,  of  the  game  of 
"  Fives,"  and  always  known  there  as  "handball,"  popular  in 
the  spring,  and  which  at  one  time  commenced  with  a  series 
of  trial  matches  to  determine  the  position  of  the  players 
throughout  the  season.  Rounders,  hornyholes,  chevy  chase, 
and  prisoners'  base  had  each  their  due  turn ;  while  hockey, 
peg-stick,  minor  forms  of  cricket,  and,  latterly,  golf,  have 
found  enthusiastic  votaries.     Even  hop-scotch,  tops,  marbles, 

309 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

and  other  kindred  trivialities  have,  in  their  time,  served 
occasionally  to  fill  in  the  half- hour's  recreation.  The 
introduction  of  tennis  brought  in  its  train  the  inevitable 
tournament. 

To  another  category  belong  "I  spy,"  which  so  amused 
Mr.  Pips,  "stag-warning,"  and  the  like;  while  the  noble  art 
of  self-defence  and  gymnastics  have  been  amongst  the  "  rages  " 
which  from  time  to  time  held  sway  in  public  estimation  ;  and 
an  occasional  tournament  has  given  zest  to  the  energy  of  the 
boys. 

Drilling  does  not  perhaps  come  strictly  within  the  defini- 
tion of  amusements ;  but  it  takes  shelter  under  that  of 
gymnastics,  to  which  it  is  allied.  In  connection  with  drill, 
however,  is  undoubtedly  the  practice  of  rifle -shooting.  It 
has  never  been  a  permanent  institution  at  St.  Gregory's;  but 
there  are  many  who  would  like  to  see  a  cadet  corps  in  exist- 
ence, and  the  formation  of  one  has  been  advocated  more  than 
once.  In  some  respects  it  would  be  a  good  move,  and 
certainly  it  would  be  extremely  popular ;  if,  however,  insuper- 
able difficulties  should  come  in  the  way  of  linking  a  school 
company  to  some  local  volunteer  battalion,  it  might  never- 
theless be  possible  to  form  a  private  cadet  corps.  From 
time  to  time,  apart  from  drill,  rifle  practice  with  a  carbine 
or  a  Martini-Henry  fitted  with  a  Morris  tube  has  been 
practised,  and  has  resulted  in  some  useful  and  interesting 
competitions  and  shooting  matches.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
Downside  may  fall  in  with  Lord  Roberts's  suggestions  on  this 
subject ;  and  should  that  happen,  it  would  after  all  only 
be  the  realisation  of  a  suggestion  made  in  the  first  instance 
more  than  a  century  ago,  in  the  days  of  the  national  fear  of 
an  invasion  by  the  First  Napoleon. 

Skating,  of  course,  stands  by  itself ;  but,  when  mentioned, 
cannot  be  dissociated  in  the  minds  of  all  Gregorians  from  the 

310 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

recollection  of  many  delightful  afternoons  spent  on  Emborrow 
pond,  otherwise  familiarly  known  as  "  Sir  John's." 

A  carpenter's  shop,  and  natural  history  and  archaeological 
clubs,  have  given  zest  to  the  natural  bent  of  some  boys'  minds, 
but  have  enjoyed  a  fluctuating  measure  of  success  and  even  of 
existence.  This  is  inevitable,  for  such  clubs  depend  upon 
various  and  changing  conditions,  and  if  in  abeyance  in  one 
year  may  find  themselves  in  a  most  flourishing  state  in  the 
space  of  a  few  months. 

Of  late  years  the  previous  disfavour  with  which  bicycles 
were  regarded  by  the  authorities  at  Downside,  as  an  additional 
source  of  anxiety  to  themselves  and  of  danger  to  the  boys,  has 
had  to  give  way  before  the  steady  pressure  of  public  opinion, 
and  the  bicycle  club  can  chronicle  some  famous  runs. 

Athletics  hold  a  high  place  of  honour  in  Downside  estima- 
tion. In  former  days  many  of  the  events  were  contested  on 
the  main  road,  which  hence  derived  the  name  by  which  it  is 
known  to  all  Gregorians,  the  "  mile  road."  The  rules  regulat- 
ing the  competitions  were  of  home  manufacture,  and  in  con- 
sequence the  results  could  not  be  used  for  the  purpose  of 
comparing  our  performances  with  those  of  other  schools.  In 
1886,  however,  the  laws  of  the  L.A.C.  were  adopted,  and 
have  since  been  rigidly  adhered  to  ;  and  though  the  course 
is  a  grass  one,  marked  out  round  the  cricket-field,  the  school 
records  can  hold  their  own  with  those  of  other  schools. 

Downside  Athletic  Sports  Records. 


100  yards 

H.  P.  Cave 

io4  sees. 

1886 

Quarter  mile 

J.  J.  Sweetman 

58  sees. 

1891 

Half  mile 

B.  Cafferata 

2  min.  15!  sees. 

1902 

One  mile 

B.  Cafferata 

5  min.  9f  sees. 

1902 

Hurdles 

H.  P.  Cave 

i8|  sees. 

1886 

u 

L.  Molyneux-Seel 

i8|  sees. 

189T 

High  jump 

J.  Galavan 

5  ft.  4i  ins. 

1893 

DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 


Broad  jump 

J.  Galavan 

20  ft.  2  ins. 

1893 

Pole  jump 

H.  Walmesley 

9  ft.  7  ins. 

1884 

Throwing  cricket  ball 

T.  Cafifrey 

1 10  yds.  2  ft.  4  ins. 

1892 

Putting  weight 

J.  Galavan 

37  ft.  6  ins. 

1892 

In  1893  Galavan  fell  short  of  this  result  on  the 
day  of  the  sports,  owing  to  weakness  after  in- 
fluenza ;  but  frequently  in  practice  he  had  put 
the  weight  over  40  feet. 

The  senior  and  junior  harriers'  clubs  are  linked  with 
athletics,  and  the  country  round  Downside,  being  very  broken 
and  diversified  with  hill  and  dale,  has  afforded  many  a  fine 
run.  It  was  the  practice  for  many  years  to  wind  up  the 
season's  runs  with  a  cross-country  steeplechase,  resulting  each 
year  in  some  excellent  performances.  The  recollection  of  a 
record  run  by  the  harriers  has  not  yet  died  out  in  the  school. 
In  1882,  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  Wells  was  made  about  the  half- 
way point  in  a  chase  of  unusual  length — in  all,  about  21 
miles.  The  time  taken  by  the  hares — Walter  Sweetman  and 
Charles  Birt — and  two  or  three  of  the  leading  hounds  was  a 
little  over  three  hours !  This  strain  on  boyish  powers  of 
endurance  had  never  been  contemplated  by  the  prefect,  who 
had  something  to  say  to  the  hares  on  the  subject  at  the  end 
of  the  day,  enforcing  his  remarks  with  a  cogent  appeal  to  the 
argumentujti  baculinum^  for  several  of  the  boys  broke  down 
hopelessly,  straggling  home  at  all  hours,  utterly  done  up. 

Allied  with  these  active  forms  of  exercise,  jumping  walks 
deserve  a  passing  mention.  At  times  these  have  been  very 
popular;  and,  again,  the  features  of  the  surrounding  country 
are  eminently  suited  to  this  healthy  nerve-giving  form  of 
athletics.  Benter,  Nettlebridge,  Chilcompton,  Binegar,  Gurney- 
Slade,  Romantic  Valley,  and  College  Wood  have  been  the  scenes 
of  many  a  good  pole-jump.  The  last-named  locality  has 
likewise  witnessed  a  more  questionable  form  of  amusement — 
that  of  "sod  fights,"  carried  out  with  great  spirit,  and  develop- 

312 


INSTITUTIONS,    CUSTOMS,   AND    GAMES 

ing  latent  strategic  and  tactical  genius,  no  doubt,  but  resulting 
in  much  damage  to  clothes.  The  present  generation  has  risen 
superior  to  its  seductions,  which  were  undoubtedly  great. 

Photography  has  for  many  years  claimed  its  ardent  votaries, 
and  many  interesting  groups  have  thus  been  secured.  It  has 
often  been  advocated,  so  far  without  result,  that  a  school 
scrap-book  should  be  provided  for  the  preservation  of  copies 
of  every  interesting  photograph  obtained.  The  value  of  such 
a  collection  in  after -years  would  be  obviously  very  great, 
and  needs  no  further  recommendation.  It  has  been  the 
practice  for  many  years  past  to  secure  annually  photographic 
groups  of  the  entire  school,  the  cricket  and  football  teams,  &c., 
and  these,  enlarged,  framed,  and  hung  in  the  school  corridors, 
form  not  only  a  valuable  record,  but  also  an  adornment  to  the 
walls.  In  connection  with  this  subject,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  St.  Gregory's  Society  possesses  several  handsome  albums 
for  the  portraits  of  all  former  or  present  Gregorians  There 
are,  of  course,  many  gaps  in  the  list,  more  especially  amongst 
the  earlier  generations ;  but  fresh  acquisitions  will  yearly  add 
to  its  value  as  a  permanent  and  fairly  complete  record  of  all 
Downside  boys. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Captains  of  the  School,  formerly 
called  Presidents : — 

Captains  of  Downside  School. 

1865-1866.  Richard  Kendal.  1875-1876.   Robert  French.     Bernard 

1866- 1867.  James  Duggan.  Corney. 

1867-1868.  David  Sherlock.  1876-1877.  Randolph  Kilkelly. 

1868- 1869.  Thomas  Tiernan.  1877-1878.  John  Kendal. 

1 869- 1 870.  Raymund  Clarke.  1878- 1879.   Michael  Dunlea. 

1 870- 1 87 1.  Raymund  Clarke.  1879- 1880.  Charles  Murphy. 

1871-1872.  John  French.  1880-1881.   Charles  Murphy. 

1872-1873.  James  Howlett.  1881-1882.  F.  Glynn  Connolly. 

1873-1874.  Edward  Butler.  1882-1883.   Lewis  Cave. 

1874-1875.  John  Colgan.  1883-1884.   Lewis  Cave. 


DOWNSIDE  SCHOOL 

1884-1885.   Hamilton  Bunbury.  1892-1893.  James  Galavan. 

1885-1886.   Richard  Madden.  1893-1894.  Patrick  Roche. 

1886-1887.   Iladdon    Cave.       Alfred  1894-1895.  Roger  Vaughan. 

MacEvoy.  1895-1896.  Roger  Vaughan. 

1887-1888,   Fitzjames  Murphy.  1896-1897.  Bernard  TurnbuU. 

1888-1889.  John  Campbell.     George  1897-1898.  Charles  Goolden. 

Connolly.  1898- 1899.  Henry      Peirano. 
1 889- 1 890.   Richard  Simpson.     Wm.                                 Charles  Waters. 

Bedingfeld.  1899-1900.  Paul  Turnbull. 

1890-1891.  Wm.  Bedingfeld.      J.    J.  1900-1901.  Everard  J.  Radcliffe. 

Sweetman.  1901-1902.  T.  W.  Ryan. 

1891-1892.   Francis  Bedingfeld.  1902-1903.  T,  W.  Ryan. 


314 


CHAPTER    IX 

GREGORIAN    WORTHIES  :     MEN    WHO    HAVE    HELPED    TO 

MAKE  ST.  Gregory's;  and  men  whom  st..  Gre- 
gory's HAS   HELPED  TO   MAKE. 

A  SUBJECT  of  great  intrinsic  interest  is  the  connection  of 
certain  old  Gregorians  with  two  famous  English  poets.  The 
literary  story  of  the  Dancastles  and  of  one  generation  of  the 
ancient  family  of  the  Throckmortons  illustrates  how  solid  and 
comprehensive  was  the  education  imparted  at  Douay.  Con- 
siderations of  space  will  here  only  permit  of  a  sketch  in  out- 
line, though  the  story  is  deserving  of  fuller  treatment,  and 
would  furnish  material  sufficient  for  a  chapter  apart. 

Alexander  Pope  had  a  half-sister  named  Magdalen,  who 
was  married  to  a  Mr.  Rackett,  and  lived  at  Staines,  Middlesex. 
Her  two  sons,  John  and  Henry,  were  at  St.  Gregory's  ;  and 
while  there  were  both  admitted  into  the  Sodality  in  1723,, 
John  on  May  2,  Henry  on  August  15.  But  it  is  not 
with  them  and  their  reflected  avuncular  glory  that  we  have 
now  to  deal,  but  with  two  other  brothers,  no  relatives  of  theirs, 
and  of  an  earlier  generation,  who  were  admitted  to  St.  Gregory's 
school  at  Douay  on  June  11,  1682.  These  were  John  and 
Thomas  Dancastle ;  and  at  Douay  they  were  joined  by  one 
William  Bannester,  who  entered  the  school  on  September  6. 
of  the  same  year.     In  course  of  time  the  last-named  became  a 

315 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

monk  at  St.  Gregory's,  and  later  went  to  take  his  share  in  the 
labours  and  dangers  of  the  English  mission.  Beyond  that  he 
was  stationed  in  the  south  of  England,  little  has  hitherto  been 
known  of  his  whereabouts  after  he  first  left  Douay.  The 
Dancastles  lived  at  Binfield  in  Windsor  Forest,  where  the 
family  had  been  lords  of  the  manor  since  the  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth. Alexander  Pope's  father  took  a  house  at  Binfield ;  and 
in  Pope's  life  we  learn  that  as  a  small  boy  he  acquired  the 
rudiments  of  Latin  and  Greek  from  Fr.  William  Bannester 
(or  Taverner)  :  this  leads  to  the  supposition  that  our 
Gregorian  was  living  in  or  near  Binfield.  As  Pope's  genius 
developed,  his  progress  was  keenly  watched  by  his  Binfield 
friends,  the  Dancastles.  Their  mutual  friendship  finds  ex- 
pression in  several  delightful  letters.  Thus  Pope,  writing  to 
Mr.  Caryll  of  Ladyholt  on  March  20,  17 16,  says  that  on 
his  leaving  Binfield  for  good,  he  "  parted  from  honest  Mr. 
Dancastle  with  tenderness " ;  and  after  that,  when  desirous 
from  time  to  time  to  pay  flying  visits  to  the  family,  he  is 
anxious  to  assure  himself  beforehand  of  their  being  at  home, 
lest  he  should  miss  seeing  them.  His  correspondence  con- 
tains frequent  allusions  to  the  help  he  received  from  the  Dan- 
castles in  his  work.  John  Dancastle  wrote  of  Pope  in  one  of 
his  letters,  in  171 7,  as  "my  great  master."  Mr.  Croker,  in  his 
edition  of  Pope's  letters,  says  :  "  Of  the  general  character  of 
the  society  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Binfield,  Pope  has  left  a 
vivid  sketch  .  .  .  {rather  depreciatory)  .  .  .  The  satire  is  in- 
applicable to  at  least  two  of  Pope's  near  neighbours — Engle- 
field  of  Whiteknights,  a  man  of  some  taste  and  literary  refine- 
ment ;  and  Thomas  Dancastle,  the  Squire  of  Binfield,  whose 
admiration  for  the  poet's  genius  was  so  enthusiastic  that  he 
transcribed  for  him  the  fair  copy  of  his  '  Translation  of  the 
Iliad.' "  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  both  the  gentlemen  excepted 
by   Mr.   Croker  from    Pope's    criticism    were    Catholics  and 

316 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

Gregorians,  and  were  considered  by  Mr.  Croker  to  be  superior 
in  tastes  and  attainments  to  their  neighbours. 

Other  indications  of  Pope's  connection  with  contemporary 
Gregorians  might  without  difficulty  be  adduced  :  as  his  cor- 
respondence with  the  Blounts  and  the  Carylls ;  and  his 
acquaintance  with  Richard  and  William  Eermour,  both  Gre- 
gorians and  brothers  of  Arabella  Fermour,  the  heroine  of  the 
*'  Rape  of  the  Lock,"    ■ 

As  we  more  nearly  approach  our  own  times,  a  still  more 
interesting  literary  friendship  presents  itself  in  the  persons  of 
AVilliam  Cowper  and  members  of  the  Throckmorton  family. 

Cowper  took  up  his  residence  at  Olney,  Buckinghamshire, 
in  1783,  and  writing  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Unwin  about  his  neigh- 
bours at  Weston  Underwood,  says  that  though  they  were 
"  Papists,"  "  they  are  much  more  amiable  than  are  many 
Protestants,"  and  compares  them  advantageously  to  the  sur- 
rounding "squires,  merely  such,  purse-proud  and  sportsmen. 
But  Mr.  Throckmorton  is  altogether  a  man  of  fashion,  and 
respectable  on  every  account."  In  1786,  acquaintanceship 
had  ripened  into  something  like  intimacy ;  and  writing  to  his 
cousin  Lady  Hesketh,  Cowper  not  only  extols  Mr.  Throck- 
morton's breadth  and  liberality  of  views,  but  refers  also  in 
kindly  fashion  to  the  chaplain,  Dom  William  Gregory  Greg- 
son,  a  monk  of  St.  Edmund's,  Paris,  with  whom  he  became 
very  friendly  as  years  wore  on.  This  Mr.  Throckmorton,  then 
residing  at  Weston,  was  the  second  son  of  Sir  George  Throck- 
morton, and  succeeded  to  the  baronetcy  on  the  death  of  his 
brother.  There  were  six  brothers  :  Robert,  John  Courtenay, 
now  referred  to,  George  Courtenay,  of  whom  more  hereafter, 
Charles  Courtenay,  Francis,  and  William,  all  of  whom  were 
successively  at  St.  Gregory's.  Mr.  John  Courtenay  Throck- 
morton married  Mary  Catherine,  daughter  of  Thomas  Giffard 
of  Chillington,  Esq. 

317 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

Cowper  wrote  in  August  1786  :  "We  are  likely  to  be  very 
happy  in  our  connection  with  the  Throckmortons.  His  reserve 
and  mine  wear  off.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Throckmorton  takes  up  that 
business  [i.e.,  transcribing  Cowper's  work],  and  will  be  my  lady 
of  the  ink-bottle  for  the  rest  of  the  winter.  She  solicited  her- 
self to  that  office.  .  .  .  Mr.  Throckmorton  .  .  .  could  not  in- 
terest himself  more  in  my  success  than  he  seems  to  do.  .  .  ." 
Just  a  year  later  he  writes  as  follows  :  " .  .  .  Our  friends  at 
the  Hall  made  themselves  more  and  more  amiable  on  our 
account,  by  treating  us  rather  as  old  friends  than  as  friends 
newly  acquired.  .  .  .  Mr.  Throckmorton  having  long  since 
put  me  in  possession  of  all  his  grounds,  has  now  given  me 
possession  of  his  library  :  an  acquisition  of  great  value  to  me. 
.  .  .  Mr.  George  Throckmorton  is  at  the  Hall.  I  thought  I 
had  known  these  brothers  long  enough  to  have  found  out  all 
their  talents  and  accomplishments  ;  but  I  was  mistaken.  The 
day  before  yesterday  .  .  .  they  shewed  me  the  contents  of  an 
immense  portfolio,  the  work  of  their  own  hands.  It  was 
furnished  with  drawings  of  the  architectural  kind,  executed  in 
a  most  masterly  manner,  and  among  others  contained  outside 
and  inside  views  of  the  Pantheon, — I  mean  the  Roman  one. 
They  were  all,  I  believe,  made  in  Rome.  Some  men  may  be 
estimated  at  a  first  interview,  but  the  Throckmortons  must  be 
seen  often,  and  known  long,  before  one  can  understand  all 
their  value.   ..." 

Two  years  later,  writing  to  Mrs.  Throckmorton,  he  passes  a 
very  high  encomium  on  her  brother-in-law's  abilities.  "I 
have  always  said  that  George  is  a  poet,  and  I  am  never  in 
his  company  but  I  discover  proofs  of  it.  .  .  .  Here  are  a 
thousand  poets  of  us,  who  have  impudence  enough  to  write 
for  the  public ;  but  amongst  the  modest  men  who  are  by 
diffidence  restrained  from  such  an  enterprise  are  those  who 
would  eclipse  us  all.     I  wish  that  George  would  make  the 

318 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

experiment.  I  would  bind  on  his  laurels  with  my  own 
hand.  .  .  ." 

On  so  intimate  a  footing  had  they  now  mutually  placed 
their  friendship,  that  Cowper  writes  of  and  to  them  as  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  "Frog";  and  they,  on  their  side,  were  equally  zealous 
in  the  interests  of  their  gifted  neighbour :  jealous  for  his  repu- 
tation, and  thoroughly  identifying  themselves  with  his  work. 
Thus,  Cowper  tells  Lady  Hesketh  that  "Mr.  Throckmorton 
said  to  me  last  night,  with  sparkling  eyes,  and  a  face  expressive 
of  the  highest  pleasure — 'We  compared  you  this  morning 
with  Pope ;  we  read  your  fourth  Iliad  and  his,  and  I  verily 
think  we  shall  beat  him.  He  has  many  superfluous  lines,  and 
does  not  interest  one.  When  I  read  your  translation  I  am 
deeply  affected.  I  see  plainly  your  advantage,  and  am  con- 
vinced that  Pope  spoiled  all  by  attempting  the  work  in  rhyme.' 
His  brother  George,  who  is  my  most  active  amanuensis,  and 
who  indeed  first  introduced  the  subject,  seconded  all  he 
said.  .  .  ." 

Sir  John  Throckmorton  also,  on  his  side,  was  active  with 
his  pen ;  and  his  pamphlets,  contributions  towards  the  solution 
of  the  movement  then  on  foot  amongst  the  Catholics  to  secure 
a  repeal  of  the  penal  laws  and  an  amelioration  of  their  social 
and  political  condition,  gave  unbounded  satisfaction  to  the 
poet.  The  history  of  that  movement  is,  of  course,  completely 
outside  the  scope  of  this  record  of  St.  Gregory's  ;  and  yet  with 
it  are  so  bound  up  the  names  of  prominent  CathoHcs  who  had 
been  educated  at  St.  Gregory's,  that  it  cannot  be  entirely 
passed  over.  The  well-known  Catholic  solicitor,  Charles 
Butler  (not  himself  a  Gregorian)  was  the  leader  on  the  English 
side  of  St.  George's  Channel,  in  the  constitutional  efforts  made 
during  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  obtain  the 
repeal  or  modification  of  the  vexatious  persecuting  enact- 
ments which  ostracised  the  adherents  of  the  old  religion,  and 

319 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

excluded  them  from  all  share  in  public  life.  The  main  con- 
tention of  Charles  Butler  and  his  friends  was  that  could  it  have 
been  made  allowable  for  CathoHcs  to  take  the  clause  in  the 
oath  of  allegiance  repudiating  the  deposing  power  still  claimed 
for  the  popes,  emancipation  as  we  enjoy  it  would  have  been 
conceded  fifty  years  before  it  was  actually  granted.  The  aban- 
donment of  that  claim  on  the  part  of  the  Holy  See  has  long 
since  come  about ;  and  thus  the  men  who  in  their  own  day 
were  looked  at  askance  as  unsound  Catholics,  were  on  the  main 
issue  but  ahead  of  their  times.  But  while  declaring  themselves 
ready  to  repudiate  what  has  since  been  practically  rejected, 
they  went  too  far  in  the  general  spirit  of  concession,  and  thus 
fell  under  the  suspicion  of  those  who  were  as  timorous  as 
they  themselves  were  over-bold  and  progressive.  Even  at 
this  date  it  is  difficult  to  decide  how  to  apportion  praise  and 
blame :  it  is,  however,  clear  that  in  the  heat  of  discussion  the 
disputants  on  both  sides  exceeded  just  limits,  casting  reflec- 
tions on  the  orthodoxy  of  their  opponents;  some  allowance 
must  therefore  be  made,  and  the  conduct  and  words  of  all 
engaged  should  be  criticised  only  in  due  perspective.  One  of 
Charles  Butler's  ablest  lieutenants  was  Sir  John  Throckmorton  ; 
and  amongst  other  Gregorians  ranked  under  the  same  leader- 
ship, and  energetically  working  to  secure  the  religious  and 
political  liberty  of  their  oppressed  co-religionists,  may  be 
mentioned  Lord  Stourton,  Sir  Thomas  Esmonde,  Mr.  Charles 
Bodenham  of  Rotherwas,  Mr.  George  Eyston  of  East  Hendred, 
and  Mr.  Charles  Browne  of  Kiddington.  While  we  are  un- 
able to  acquit  them  of  blame  for  some  of  their  utterances, 
it  is  nevertheless  possible  to  admire  the  energy  they  dis- 
played, which  certainly  hastened  the  dawn  of  the  day  of 
complete  freedom.  They  were  persuaded  that  the  cause 
of  Catholicity  was  surely  dying  of  inanition  ;  and  if  their 
action,  though  insufficiently  submissive  and  considered,  gal- 

320 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

vanised  the  moribund  body  once  more  into  life,  their  in- 
discretions may  indeed  be  overlooked  in  consideration  of 
the  greater  benefits  they  were  so  largely  instrumental  in 
securing  for  their  co-religionists  :  not  merely  toleration,  but 
recognition  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  rest  of  their  fellow- 
countrymen,  and  a  legal  right  to  the  enjoyment  of  full  politi- 
cal liberty  and  freedom  of  conscience. 

In  the  long  course  of  its  existence,  St.  Gregory's  naturally 
can  claim  its  share  of  credit  for  the  training  of  not  a  few  men 
who  have  signalised  themselves  in  some  of  the  many  walks  of 
life,  be  it  in  the  senate,  the  law  courts,  the  services,  in  literature, 
art,  or  science,  and  in  the  service  or  government  of  the  Church 
in  this  country  and  its  dependencies. 

In  the  selection  of  subjects  for  the  following  catalogue  of 
"worthies,"  in  order  to  avoid  undue  extension,  those  names 
only  appear  that  have  been  admitted  either  to  the  volumes  of 
the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography^  Mr.  Joseph  Gillow's 
Dictionary  of  Catholic  Biography^  or  other  recognised  bio- 
graphical works ;  or  whose  services  to  St.  Gregory's  have 
been  eminently  conspicuous.  The  appreciation  of  Gregorian s 
by  Gregorians  from  inside  a  little  world  like  St.  Gregory's 
is  liable  to  be  tinted  by  rose  -  coloured  glasses ;  hence  the 
impartial  dictionaries  may  be  relied  upon  to  moderate  this 
"  couleur  de  rose."  Extended  biographical  notices  will, 
moreover,  be  studiously  avoided ;  reference  being  rather 
made  in  each  case  to  the  sources  where  fuller  information 
may  be  obtained.  The  Dictionary  of  National  Biography 
itself  furnishes  many  sources  for  further  investigation. 

The  place  of  honour  in  Honour's  Roll  must  be  accorded  to 
those  who,  displaying  on  earth  the  highest  phase  of  Christian 
heroism,  gave  their  lives  for  their  religious  faith. 

It  is  a  great  privilege  and  a  great  grace  for  a  monastery  and 
its  school  to  find  their  origins  and  their  history  bound  up  with 

321  X 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

the  life  and  labours  of  a  man  of  the  character  of  the  Vener- 
able John  Roberts,  and  so  to  be  in  a  special  sense  to  this 
day  Signaculiim  Apostolatus  ejus  in  Domino.  To  him,  together 
with  Fr.  Augustine  White  or  Bradshaw,  belongs  the  credit  of 
founding  St.  Gregory's  monastery  in  Douay,  notwithstanding 
the  pressure  of  poverty  and  many  other  trials.  He  is  accounted 
the  first  superior  or  prior  of  the  house.  After  arduous  labours 
for  souls  in  England,  he  was  arrested,  tried,  and  condemned 
for  his  priesthood,  and  suffered  martyrdom  at  Tyburn  on  Dec- 
ember lo,  1610.  His  remains  were  secured,  and  preserved 
with  veneration  at  Douay  till  the  Revolution. 

His  portrait  appears  in  Abbot  Caverel's  Charter  to  St.  Greg- 
ory's. (Cf.  Downside  Revieiv^  vol.  xvi. ;  Diet,  of  Nat.  Biog., 
xlviii.  383;  Downside  Review^  xiv.  44;  Dodd,  ii.  415;  Dom 
Camm's  Life.) 

Dom  (iEORGE  Gervaise  was  a  student  of  the  Secular  Col- 
lege in  Douay,  and  was  there  ordained.  After  working  on  the 
English  mission,  he  returned  to  Douay  in  1606,  received  the 
Benedictine  habit,  went  back  to  England,  and  there  suffered 
martyrdom  on  April  11,  1608. 

His  portrait  is  one  of  those  given  in  Abbot  Caverel's 
Charter.  (Challoner's  Memoirs  of  Missionary  Priests^  ii. ; 
Dodd,  ii.  368;  Gillow,  ii.  434;  Stanton's  Me?ioiogy,  154; 
Downside  Review^  xvi.) 

Dom  William  Maurus  Scot,  though  not  professed  of  St. 
Gregory's,  having  made  his  vows  in  Spain  at  S.  Facundo  de 
Sahagun,  was  nevertheless  affiliated  to  St.  Gregory's ;  for  in 
Abbot  Caverel's  Charter,  where  his  portrait  is  given,  he  is 
stated  to  be  alumnus  istius  Collegii  Vedastini  {i.e.^  of  course,  a 
monk  of  Douay),  and  the  authors  of  the  Apostolatus  state  that 
he  lived  at  Douay  for  a  time  as  a  conventual.     {Menology, 

245-) 

Dom    Edward    Ambrose    Barlow  was    professed   at    St. 

322 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

Gregory's  in  1616,  having  probably  been  in  the  school  for 
a  short  period  previously,  after  having  spent  some  years  at  the 
English  College  at  Valladolid,  and  also  at  the  Secular  College 
in  Douay.  He  shed  his  blood  for  the  Faith  on  September  10, 
1 64 1.  On  the  anniversary  it  is  customary  to  crown  his  por- 
trait in  the  boys'  Dining  Hall  at  Downside  with  a  wreath  of 
laurels  and  flowers.  (Challoner,  ii. ;  Dodd,  iii.  100  ;  Menology^ 
444  ;  Downside  Rev.,  i.  198  ;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  iii.  218.) 

Fr.  Arthur  Francis  Bell,  O.S.F.,  born  in  1590,  was 
executed  at  Tyburn  on  December  11,  1643.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  St.  Omers  and  Valladolid,  where  he  was  raised  to 
the  priesthood.  His  connection  with  St.  Gregory's  was  of 
later  date.  After  he  had  entered  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  he 
completed  his  theological  studies  at  Douay  under  the  tuition 
of  the  fathers  at  St.  Gregory's.  The  Certanien  Seraphiciim 
thus  chronicles  the  incident  in  words  reflecting  credit  on  both 
orders  :  "  .  .  .  quo  in  loco  [Douay]  alteros  duos  annos  studio 
theologico  adjecit,  sub  magistris  reverendis  patribus  Benedict- 
inis,  patre  Rudisyndo  Barlo,  patre  Leandro  a  sancto  Martino, 
sacrae  theologiae  doctoribus,  et  patre  Thoma  Torquato,  singulis 
ob  singularem  suam  in  conventum  nostrum  benevolentiam  de 
nobis  optime  meritis."  Though  he  was  not  a  Gregorian,  yet 
the  example  of  this  humble  son  of  St.  Francis  could  not  but 
have  had  an  excellent  effect  on  those  who  were  thus  privileged 
for  two  years  to  enjoy  such  close  relations  with  the  future 
martyr,  and  to  help  in  preparing  him  for  his  work  in  England, 
which  was  rewarded  with  the  martyr's  crown.  (Gillow,  i.  171; 
Cert.  Seraph.,  153;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  iv.  157;  Mrs  Hope's 
Franciscan  Martyrs  ifi  Efigland,  189  ;  Menology,  595-) 

Dom  William  Ildephonsus  Hesketh  (or  Hanson)  was 
professed  at  St.  Gregory's  in  161 5,  being  already  a  priest.  He 
was  worried  to  death  by  the  Parliamentary  troops,  in  York- 
shire, July  26,  1644.     (Dodd,  iii.  66;  Doumside  Rev./\.  279-.) 

323 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

Dom  Philip  Powel  (or  Morgan,  or  Prosser)  was  pro- 
fessed at  Douay  in  1620,  and  underwent  martyrdom  on  June 
30,  1646.      {Meno/og}\  295;  Dcnvnside  Rei\^  i.  346.) 

Br.  Thomas  Pickering,  lay  brother.  This  humble  re- 
ligious, professed  at  Douay  in  1660,  laid  down  his  life, 
which  was  sworn  away  by  the  infamous  Titus  Gates  and 
Bedloe.  His  portrait  in  oils,  a  modern  one,  copied  from 
a  contemporary  engraving,  is  at  Downside.  (Challoner,  ii. ; 
Dodd,  iii.  318  ;  Mefio/ogy^  205  ;  Downside  Rev.^  ii.  52.) 

Dom  James  Lawrence  Mabbs  was  professed  at  Douay 
in  1620,  after  having  been  for  some  time  at  Valladolid,  which 
seminary  he  entered  in  161 8.  He  is  described  in  the  Ad- 
mission Book  of  the  college  there  as  "  ejusdem  farinae  homo," 
as  the  companion  with  whom  he  came — i.e.^  "vir  perversi 
cordis  et  seminator  zizaniorum."  As  both  went,  or  were 
sent  away,  without  taking  the  college  oath,  perhaps  the 
severe  judgment  passed  upon  them  may  be  explained.  The 
Liber  Primi  Examinis  of  Valladolid  records:  "annos  natus 
29  venit  ad  hoc  Collegium  missus  Duaco  cum  supradicto 
socio  {Edwardus  Spicer  alias  Sher/ey,  18  Aug.  16 18).  Bac- 
calaureus  Artium  in  Collegio  Academia  Cantabrigiensi,  ascitus 
in  gremium  Ecclesiae  per  D.  Stering  alias  Browne  in  carcere 
Clincano  ob  fidem  detentum,  in  gremium  matris  Ecclesiae 
intromissus,  humiliter  petiit  admitti  in  hoc  collegium  ut  ejus 
fini  se  conformaret.''     (Gillow,  iv.  362.) 

Dom  Peter  Boniface  Wilford,  a  secular  priest,  was 
professed  at  St.  Gregory's  in  1609.  His  alias  was  Tayler. 
He  entered  Valladolid  Seminary  May  30,  1604,  and  was 
there  ordained.  The  Liber  Primi  Examinis  gives  these  par- 
ticulars about  him  :  "  anno  20  aetatis  suae  venit  ad  hoc 
collegium  cum  supradictis  novem,  natus  Londini  parentibus 
nobilibus  et  Catholicis ;  studuit  aliquandiu  Londini,  sed 
haereticorum    insidiis   appetitus  cum  grandior  esset,   mutare 

324 


GREGORIAN   WORTHIES 

locum  saepe  coactus  est  donee  clanculum  insciis  parentibus 
molitus  est  transmarinum  iter,  sed  in  via  deprehensus,  con- 
jicitur  in  carcerem  ubi  per  sex  menses  permansit,  et  ex 
magna  parte  ab  omni  mortalium  et  maxime  Catholiconim 
congressu  et  colloquio  exclusus,  liberatus  tandem,  Audo- 
maropolim  advolavit,  et  inde  post  duos  annos  hue  missus 
est."  After  working  some  time  on  the  English  mission,  he 
was  arrested  and  thrown  into  Newgate  prison,  where  he  died 
in  1646.     (Foley's  Records,  i.  253  ;  iii.  90,  91  ;  v.  953.) 

Although  St.  Gregor>''s  has  always  existed  as  a  lay  school, 
nevertheless,  besides  its  own  government  and  its  share  in  that 
of  the  English  Benedictine  congregation,  it  has  furnished  the 
Church  at  large  with  no  mean  number  of  bishops  and  prelates. 
Indeed,  this  feature  is  so  very  marked  and  conspicuous,  that 
the  mere  enumeration  of  the  prelates  who  have  been  selected 
from  amongst  Gregorians  forms  of  itself  a  notable  record. 
And  to  make  this  more  emphatic,  they  will  be  here  grouped 
together  out  of  strict  chronological  order. 

His  Eminence  Herbert,  C\rdinal  Vaughan,  was  at 
Downside  during  the  years  1849-1851,  and  he  has  placed  it 
on  record  that  while  there  he  received  the  call  to  the  ecclesias- 
tical state.  After  pursuing  his  ecclesiastical  studies  elsewhere 
and  being  raised  to  the  priesthood,  he  became  the  founder  of 
Mill  Hill  Missionar}'  College.  In  1873  he  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Salford,  where  he  remained  till,  upon  the  death 
of  Cardinal  Manning,  he  was  transferred  to  the  archdiocese 
of  Westminster.  He  received  the  Cardinal's  Hat  in  1892, 
with  the  title  of  St.  Gregory's  on  the  Coelian  Hill.  A  very 
inadequate  portrait  of  him  as  Bishop  of  Salford  hangs  in  the 
boys'  Dining  Hall.  The  wish  of  Downside  to  its  distinguished 
alumnus  may  be  borrowed  from  the  Falemian  poet :  Serus  in 
caelum  redeas. 

Most   Rev.  James  Butler  (II.)  was  partly  educated   at 

325 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

St.  Gregory's,  Douay,  which  he  entered  about  1753,  partly 
at  St.  Omers  and  Paris.  He  was  appointed  coadjutor  with 
right  of  succession  to  Dr.  James  Butler  (I.),  Archbishop  of 
Cashel,  being  consecrated  on  July  4,  1773,  with  the  title  of 
Bishop  of  Germanicopolis,  i.p.i.  He  succeeded  to  the  arch- 
bishopric the  following  year,  and  died  on  July  29,  1791,  aged 
50  years.     (Maziere  Brady,  iii.) 

Most  Rev.  John  Bede  Folding,  O.S.B.  After  completing 
his  school  course  at  Acton  Burnell,  he  there  entered  the 
order;  and  after  filling  many  important  posts  in  the  house 
of  his  profession,  he  was  selected  for  the  arduous  task  of 
organising  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  Antipodes.  He  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Hiero-Caesarea  in  1834,  and  became 
in  due  course  first  Archbishop  of  Sydney,  N.S.W.,  and  enjoys 
the  proud  distinction  of  being  the  father  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  Australasia  and  the  founder  of  its  hierarchy.  A 
portrait  of  him,  painted  in  the  early  years  of  his  episcopate, 
hangs  in  the  boys'  Dining  Hall  at  Downside.  {Diet.  Nat. 
Biog.,  xlvi.    18;    Doivnside  Rev.,  i.  91,  &c.) 

Most  Rev.  William  Bernard  Ullathorne,  O.S.B. 
After  entering  Downside  school  at  a  somewhat  advanced 
age,  and  overcoming  the  backwardness  of  his  education,  he 
took  the  habit.  He  went  to  New  South  Wales  as  Vicar- 
General  of  Dr.  Morris,  Bishop  of  Mauritius,  in  whose  diocese 
the  whole  of  the  vast  continent  of  Australia  then  lay.  He 
was  there  instrumental  in  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the 
convicts,  and  later  in  securing  the  abolition  of  the  system 
of  transportation.  Though  he  repeatedly  refused  the  mitre, 
he  was  at  last  forced  to  yield;  and,  in  1846,  became  Vicar- 
Apostolic  of  the  Western  District.  At  the  restoration  of  the 
Hierarchy  in  1850,  in  effecting  which  he  took  the  lion's 
share,  he  was  translated  to  the  newly  erected  See  of  Birming- 
ham, over  which  he  continued  to  preside  till  his  retirement, 

326 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

when  he  was  honoured  with  the  titular  Archbishopric  of 
Cabasa.  He  was  a  prolific  writer.  His  death  occurred  on 
March  21,  1889.  His  portrait,  painted  by  R.  Burchett  in 
1852,  is  at  Downside.  (Maziere  Brady,  iii.  400;  Diet.  Nat. 
Bio^.^  xlviii.  19  ;  Downside  Rev.^  ix.  71.) 

Most  Rev.  Roger  Bede  Vaughan,  O.S.B.,  younger 
brother  of  Cardinal  Vaughan.  He  entered  the  school  at 
Downside  in  1850,  and  in  due  time  was  admitted  to  the 
habit.  He  succeeded  Dom  Norbert  Sweeney  as  the  second 
cathedral  prior  of  Belmont,  and  in  1873  was  consecrated 
as  coadjutor  to  Dr.  Folding,  whom  he  succeeded  in  due 
course,  becoming  the  second  Archbishop  of  Sydney,  N.S.W. 
He  died  suddenly,  the  day  after  landing  in  England,  on 
Aug.  18,  1883.  His  portrait  is  at  Belmont.  {Diet.  Nat. 
Biog.,  xlviii.  177;  Downside  Rev.,  iii.  i,  &c.) 
.  Right  Rev.  Michael  Philip  Ellis,  O.S.B.,  after  passing 
through  the  school,  was  professed  at  Douay  in  1670.  He 
was  one  of  the  chaplains  at  Somerset  House,  and  in  1688 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Aureliopolis,  /././.,  and  appointed 
Vicar-Apostolic  of  the  Western  District.  He  left  England 
at  the  Revolution,  and  in  1708  was  translated  to  the  See 
of  Segni  in  Italy,  and  died  there  in  1726.  A  beautiful 
portrait  of  him,  engraved  by  Meyer  from  a  painting,  is 
prefixed  to  the  Ellis  Correspondenee,  in  2  vols.  8vo,  pub- 
hshed  in  1829  by  the  Hon.  George  Agar-Elljs.  (Gillow,  ii. 
161;  Dodd,  iii.  467;  Maziere  Brady,  iii.  281;  Diet.  Nat. 
Biog.,  xvii.   287;  Downside  Rev.,  xvii.    231.) 

Right  Rev.  William  Lawrence  York,  O.S.B.,  was  a  boy 
in  the  school,  and  later  a  monk  at  Douay.  Consecrated 
Bishop  of  Niba,  i.p.i.,  and  coadjutor  to  Dr.  Pritchard,  V.A. 
of  the  Western  District,  in  1741,  he  succeeded  in  1750. 
Resigning  in  1764,  he  retired  to  Douay,  where  he  died 
in  1770.     His  portrait  forms  one  of  the  series  of  Gregorian 

327 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

bishops  at  Downside.  (Maziere  Brady,  iii.  295  ;  Diet.  Nat. 
Biog.,  Ixiii.   336.) 

Right  Rev.  Charles  Walmesley,  O.S.B.,  though  a  boy 
in  the  school  at  Douay,  joined  the  community  of  St. 
Edmund's  at  Paris.  He  was  a  D.D.  of  the  Sorbonne ;  and 
being  acknowledged  as  a  brilHant  astronomer  and  savant, 
was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society.  He  was  mainly 
instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  change  of  style  in  Eng- 
land by  the  adoption  of  the  Gregorian  Calendar.  He  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Rama,  /././.,  and  coadjutor  to  Bishop 
York,  V.A.  of  the  Western  District,  in  1756,  and  succeeded 
him  on  his  retirement  in  1764.  He  died  at  Bath  in  1797. 
A  fine  and  striking  portrait  of  him  is  in  the  Downside  Dining 
Hall.  The  episcopate  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America  is  derived  from  him,  he  having  consecrated  Dr 
Carroll  as  first  Bishop  of  Baltimore,  at  Lulworth,  in  1790. 
(Maziere  Brady,   iii.   298;    Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  lix.    157.) 

Right  Rev.  William  Gregory  Sharrock,  O.S.B.  A 
Gregorian  by  education  and  profession,  he  became  prior  of 
his  house,  and  in  1781  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Telmessus, 
/././.,  and  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Walmesley,  V.A.  of  the  Western 
District,  whom  he  succeeded  in  1797,  and  died  at  Bath  in 
1809.  A  poor  portrait  exists  at  Downside.  (Maziere  Brady, 
iii.  303.) 

Right  Rev.  William  Placid  Morris,  O.S.B.,  was  a  boy 
at  Acton  Burnell,  and  there,  too,  he  joined  the  community. 
He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Troy,  i.p.i.,  and  appointed 
Vicar- Apostolic  of  the  Mauritius  in  1832.  He  retired  in 
1840,  and,  till  his  death  in  1872,  resided  at  Roehampton 
near  London,  where  he  was  well  known  and  much  respected. 
His  portrait  is  at  Downside.     {Doivnside  Rev.,  \.  329.) 

Right  Rev.  Thomas  Joseph  Brown,  O.S.B.,  entered  the 
school  while  it  was  located  at  Acton  Burnell,  and  there 
took    the    habit    shortly  before    the   migration   to    Downside, 

328 


GREGORIAN   WORTHIES 

where  he  was  the  first  to  make  his  vows.  He  was  a  learned 
theologian  and  a  doughty  controversialist.  After  filling  nearly 
every  post  at  Downside,  including  the  priorship,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Vicar  -  Apostolic  of  the  Welsh  District,  and  conse- 
crated Bishop  of  Appolonia,  /././.,  in  1840.  In  1850  he 
became  the  first  Bishop  of  Newport  and  Menevia,  which 
diocese  he  continued  to  govern  till  his  death  in  1880.  A 
characteristic  portrait  of  him  is  on  the  walls  of  the  Dining 
Hall.  (Gillow,  i.  325  ;  Maziere  Brady,  iii. ;  Diet.  Nat,  Biog.j 
vii.  33  ;  Downside  Rev,,  i.  4.) 

Right  Rev.  Charles  Henry  Davis,  O.S.B.,  boy  and  monk 
at  Downside,  was  selected  to  be  the  first  bishop  of  Maitland, 
Australia;  and  to  that  See  he  was  consecrated  in  1848;  but 
a  life  of  much  promise  was  prematurely  closed  in  1854. 
There  is  a  poor  portrait  of  him  in  the  Dining  Hall.  (Gillow, 
ii.  31  ;  Dr  Oliver,  Collections.) 

Right  Rev.  Arthur  Riddell,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Northamp- 
ton, consecrated  1880.  Of  the  family  of  Riddells  of  Felton, 
Northumberland,  he  was  born  in  1836,  and  entered  the  school 
at  Downside  in  1846,  where  he  remained  till  1850. 

Right  Rev.  Patrick  J.  Donahue,  D.D.,  Bishop  of 
Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  U.S.A.,  consecrated  1894.  He  entered 
the  school  in   1865. 

Right  Rev.  Adelrich  Benziger,  D.D.,  O.C.D.,  conse- 
crated in  1900  coadjutor  to  the  Bishop  of  Quilon,  S.  India, 
entered  Downside  School  in   1882. 

May  the  fruitful  labours  of  these  three  last  named  dis- 
tinguished Gregorian  prelates  in  the  Master's  Vineyard  be 
continued  for  many  years  yet  to  come. 

Three  Gregorians,  first  boys,  then  monks,  and  each  in  his 
time  prior  of  the  house,  were  adjudged  worthy  of  receiving 
episcopal  consecration,  though  they  refused  the  mitre.  As  it 
was  through  their  own  act  that  they  remained  simple  priests, 
their  names  deserve  to  find  a  place  here. 

329 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

In  1806,  Bishop  Gregory  Sharrock  applied  to  Rome  for  a 
coadjutor ;  and  Propaganda  granted  him  one  in  the  person  of 
his  own  brother  James  Jerome,  then  prior  at  Acton  Burnell. 
His  Briefs  and  appointment  to  the  See  of  Themiscyra  in 
Cappadocia,  /././.,  were  actually  made  out,  dated  April  19, 
1806,  but  he  could  not  be  induced  to  accept  the  burden. 
Dr  Peter  Bernardine  Collingridge,^  O^F.,  was  appointed  in 
his  stead.     (Maziere  Brady,  iii.) 

Dom  Luke  Bernard  Barber  was  selected  for  an  English 
bishopric,  but  though  he  was  urged  to  accept  it,  resolutely 
refused  the  honour.  The  correspondence  relating  to  the 
offer  is  in  the  Downside  archives. 

Dom  Joseph  Peter  Wilson  was  selected  in  1842  to  be- 
come the  first  Bishop  of  Hobart  Town,  Tasmania ;  but  on  his 
firm  refusal  to  accept  the  nomination,  it  was  transferred  to 
Fr.  Willson  of  Nottingham.  The  portraits  of  Frs.  Barber  and 
Wilson  are  in  the  Downside  Dining  Hall. 

While  the  penal  laws  were  in  vigour,  small  scope  was  afforded 
to  staunch  lay  Catholics  of  either  developing  or  exhibit- 
ing their  powers,  every  avenue  to  fame  and  distinction  being 
barred  by  the  statutory  obligation  of  taking  oaths  of  allegiance 
containing  clauses  repugnant  to  the  belief  and  the  consciences 
of  Catholics.  Nearly  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago,  one  who 
suffered  from  these  manifold  disabilities  gave  expression  to 
the  sentiments  which  he  and  others  entertained  on  this  subject 
in  the  following  words :  "  How  great  soever  their  natural 
endowments  should  be,  in  acquired  abilities  they  {i.e.  Catholics) 
must  be  inferior  to  Protestants,  .  .  .  nor  in  the  progress  of 
life  do  they  feel  those  incitements  to  application  and  improve- 
ment which  can  alone  give  superiority  to  mental  talents.  In 
the  walks  of  retirement,  I  own,  they  may  be  informed  and 
able :  the  genius  even  of  science  is  here  often  more  propitious 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 


than  in  the  busy  haunts  of  men ;  and  the  muses  are  known  to 
love  the  sequestered  vale."  Elsewhere  the  same  apologist 
wrote  in  1781  :  "Catholics  for  many  years  back  had  made 
too  inconsiderable  a  figure  in  the  drama  of  human  life  to 
attract  the  notice  of  the  annalist  or  the  historian.  In  the 
most  crowded  narratives  of  English  business  they  seldom 
appear,  unless  where  peevish  humour  brings  them  forward  for 
an  object  of  censure  or  of  malignant  satire."  In  consequence, 
the  lay  element  is  not  so 
largely  represented  in  our 
list  of  Gregorian  "  wor- 
thies "  as  could  be  wished. 
It  is  advisable  to  sound 
this  note  of  warning,  as 
it  sufficiently  accounts  for 
the  otherwise  seemingly 
undue  preponderance  of 
the  ecclesiastical  element. 

The  co-founder  of  St. 
Gregory's  with  its  first 
superior,  the  Venerable 
John  Roberts  or  de  Mer- 
vinia,  was  Father  Augus- 
tine Bradshaw,  alias 
White.    He  stands  third 

in  the  list  of  priors  of  St.  Gregory's,  and  during  his  term  of 
office  the  establishment  moved  out  of  its  temporary  quarters 
in  the  buildings  of  the  Trinitarians,  into  suitable  ones  provided 
by  his  energy  and  the  noble  munificence  of  Abbot  Caverel : 
and  while  he  was  prior,  the  school  entered  on  its  career. 
{Did.  Nat.  Biog.,  Ixi.   55;    Downside  Rev.^  xvii.    72.) 

Dom  Leander  Jones,   alias  Scudamore,   otherwise  best 
known  as  Dom  Leander  de   Sancto   Martino,  was   three 

331 


DOM    LEANDER    DE   STO.    MARTINO 
(/<>.  Leander  Jones) 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

times  prior  of  St  Gregory's,  and  also  President-General  of  the 
English  Benedictines.  Dom  Cressy  says  he  was  "for  his  piety 
and  universal  learning  famous  throughout  Christendom." 
Being  a  man  of  consummate  prudence  and  patience,  he  was 
selected  as  eminently  fitted  to  be  entrusted  with  a  special 
mission  to  England  to  negotiate  with  the  Government  there, 
by  whom  he  was  trusted,  and  who  granted  him  a  safe  con- 
duct. He  was  no  mean  poet,  and  has  left  many  writings 
behind  him,  the  most  important  being  the  Apostolatus  Bene- 
dictinoriim  in  Anglia,  a  joint  work  of  which  he  was  part 
author.  (Gillovv,  iii.  660;  Dodd,  iii.  112;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog., 
XXX.  123  :  Downside  Rev.,  iv.  25  :  Taunton,  Black  Monks,  ii.) 

Dom  William  Rudesind  Barlow,  the  fifth  prior  of  Douay, 
was  a  man  of  great  erudition,  and  was  looked  upon  as  one  of 
the  first  divines  and  canonists  of  his  age.  Much  of  the  early 
prosperity  of  St.  Gregory's  may  be  attributed  to  his  energy. 
(Gillow,  i.  136;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  iii.  224.) 

Dom  David  Augustine  Baker,  formerly  a  lawyer,  was  one 
of  the  first  members  of  the  restored  English  Benedictine  con- 
gregation. Though  a  member  of  the  Dieulouard  community, 
he  was  for  some  considerable  time  a  conventual  at  St.  Gre- 
gory's, and  so  was  brought  into  connection  with  the  school ; 
and  by  his  saintly  life  exercised  a  powerful  influence  in  the 
formation  of  the  characters  of  the  boys  at  that  time  frequent- 
ing St.  Gregory's.  He  was  the  author  of  many  much  esteemed 
ascetical  writings,  besides  others  on  ecclesiastical  history,  in 
which  he  was  deeply  versed  ;  and  his  knowledge  of  the  anti- 
quities of  England  brought  him  into  correspondence  with 
those  giants  of  antiquarian  research.  Sir  Robert  Cotton,  John 
Selden,  Sir  Henry  Spelman,  and  William  Camden.  It  was 
due  to  his  initial  labours  that  the  material  was  collected  for 
the  Apostolatus ;  and  his  papers  were  put  into  shape  and 
edited  by  Fr.   Clement   Reyner.      An    oil    painting   of  this 

332 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

saintly  and  deeply  learned  monk  hangs  in  the  Downside 
Dining  Hall.  (Dom  Sweeney's  Life;  Gillow,  i.  112;  Did, 
Nat.  Biog.^  iii.  2.) 

Dom  Hugh  Serenus  Cressy,  after  a  brilliant  Oxford 
course,  was  ordained  in  the  Established  Church,  and  therein 
rose  to  the  dignity  of  canon  of  Windsor  and  dean  of  Leighlin. 
Becoming  a  convert  in  1646,  he  three  years  later  made  his 
profession  at  St.  Gregory's.  He  was  a  noted  historian,  and  his 
Church  History  of  Brittany^  only  the  first  volume  of  which 
was  ever  printed,  is  valuable.  Many  other  works  came  from 
his  pen.  In  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  was  stationed  at 
Somerset  House,  and  there  died  in  1674.  Perhaps  some 
readers  may  recall  the  high  appreciation  of  him  which  finds 
a  place  in  chapter  xx.  oi  John  Inglesant,  (Gillow,  i.  592; 
Dodd,  iii.  307  ;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  xiii.  72.) 

Patrick  Gary,  at  first  in  the  school,  later  a  novice  but 
never  professed,  was  a  younger  son  of  Lady  Falkland,  whose 
life  he  subsequently  wrote.  He  was  also  a  poet  of  some  merit, 
as  is  attested  by  some  fragments  which  he  published.  {Diet, 
Nat.  Biog.,  ix.  251.) 

Sir  Robert  Stapylton  was  the  third  son  of  Sir  Richard 
Stapylton  of  Carleton,  Yorks.  Dodd  says  he  was  "  educated 
with  a  great  deal  of  care  ...  in  the  monastery  of  the  English 
monks  in  the  University  of  Douay;  where  he  distinguished 
himself  in  human  learning,  especially  poetry,  having  a  par- 
ticular genius  for  that  kind  of  study.  After  his  return  into 
England  he  became  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Church,  and 
so  continued  till  his  death."  He  was  a  voluminous  dramatic 
poet  and  translator.  It  must  be  added  with  regret  that  he  was 
professed  as  a  monk  in  1625,  but  was  afterwards  dismissed  the 
order,  and  returning  to  England,  abandoned  his  religion,  as 
related  by  Dodd.     (Dodd,  iii.  253  ;  Diet,  Nat.  Biog.,  liv.  100.) 

Dom  Arthur  Anselm  Crowther,  alias  Broughton,  may 

333 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

possibly  have  been  one  of  the  earliest  boys  in  St.  Gregory's 
school ;  but  his  profession  so  early  as  1611  makes  this  doubt- 
ful. He  died  a  prisoner  for  the  Faith  in  the  Old  Bailey. 
He  was  a  learned  spiritual  writer,  and  founder  of  the  Con- 
fraternity of  the  Rosary  in  London,  for  whose  members  he 
wrote  a  special  book  of  holy  exercises  and  meditationSi 
(Gillow,   i.   664;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.^  xiii.   236.) 

Dom  JortN  CuTHBERT  FuRSDON  was  a  pupil  and  an  admirer 
of  Fr.  Augustine  Baker,  who,  it  is  clear,  was  the  means  of  his 
being  sent  to  St.  Gregory's.  He  must  have  been  in  the  school, 
and  one  of  its  earliest  members.  He  became  a  monk  in  1620. 
Wheti  on  the  mission,  he  was  the  instrument  of  the  conversion 
of  the  Falkland  family.  He  published  three  or  four  works. 
(Gillow,   ii.   342  ;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog..,  xx.   334.) 

Dom  Gregory  Benedict  Stapylton,  of  the  family  of 
Carleton,  Yorks,  was  not  only  a  boy  and  monk  at  Douay,  but 
likewise  became  tenth  prior  of  the  house;  and  in  1661  he 
was  appointed  superior  of  the  community  at  Somerset  House, 
and  in  this  capacity  was  well  known  at  Court.  He  died  in 
1680,   being  then   President-General. 

Dom  John  Hudlestone  has  taken  his  place  in  English 
history  as  having  been  instrumental  together  with  the  Pendrells 
in  saving  Charles  H  's  life  after  the  battle  of  Worcester,  and 
also  for  having  reconciled  him  to  the  Church  on  his  deathbed. 
In  1673,  when-  an  order  in  Council  was  issued  commanding 
all  Catholic  priests  born  within  any  of  his  Majesty's  dominions 
to  leave  the  kingdom,  special  exception  was  made  in  favour  of 
Fr.  Hudlestone,  "  who  was  eminently  serviceable  to  his  Majesty 
in  his  escape  from  Worcester."  An  original  portrait  of  this 
Father,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  painted  by  Housman  in 
1685,  is  at  the  ancestral  family  seat  at  Hutton  John,  in 
Cumberland.  (Dodd,  iii.  490  ;  Gillow,  iii.  463  ;  Diet.  Nat. 
Biog.,  xxviii,   143.) 

334 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

Dom  Richard  Wilfrid  Reeve  was  brought  up  a  Protest- 
ant, and  became  a  schoolmaster.  In  1667  he  submitted  to  the 
Church,  went  to  St.  Gregory's  to  live  as  a  lay  convictor,  but  in 
1675  he  petitioned  to  be  admitted  to  the  habit,  and  was 
accepted  :  he  taught  in  the  school  at  Douay  for  several  years. 
Anthony  a  Wood,  who  knew  him  well,  says  of  him  :  "  He  was 
accounted  a  perfect  philologist,  admirably  well  versed  in  all 
classical  learning,  and  a  good  Grecian ;  and  had  been  so 
sedulous  in  his  profession  of  paedagogy,  that  he  had  educated 
60  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  about  40  Roman 
priests."  He  was,  moreover,  no  mean  poet,  as  verses  still 
extant  testify.     {Did.  Nat.  Biog.^  xlvii.  413.) 

John  Steevens  was  in  the  school  at  Douay  by  February 
1675.  H^  is  best  known  to  fame  as  a  Spanish  scholar  and 
translator  of  several  works  from  that  language,  as  also  from  the 
French  and  Portuguese.  He  was,  moreover,  a  learned  and 
industrious  antiquary.  In  17 18  he  published  a  translation 
and  abridgment  of  Dugdale's  Monasticon  Anglicanum,  and 
added  two  additional  volumes ;  and  in  the  list  of  subscribers 
to  that  work  may  be  recognised  the  names  of  many  of  his  old 
schoolfellows,  and  of  other  Gregorians,  evidently  interested  in 
his  labours.  The  translation  which  he  made  of  Ven.  Bede's 
Ecclesiastical  History  formed  the  basis  of  that  published  by 
Dr.  Giles.     {Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  liv.   231.) 

Dom  Gregory  Greenwood  passed  through  the  school,  and 
then  took  the  monastic  vows  in  1688.  In  due  course  he  was 
transferred  to  the  mission,  wherein  he  laboured  till  his  death 
in  1744.  He  it  was  who  gave  to  St.  Gregory's  its  beautiful 
organ,  now  in  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame  in  Douay.  He  was 
a  voluminous  ascetical  and  catechetical  writer,  no  fewer  than 
39  volumes  from  his  pen  being  still  preserved  in  MS.  For 
close  on  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  acted  as  chaplain  to  the 
Throckmortons   at   Coughton   Court,    Warwickshire ;  and  the 

335 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

long  connection  of  that  ancient  family  with  St.  Gregory's  is 
probably  due  to  their  regard  for  him,  and  to  his  influence. 
(Gillow,    iii.   46.) 

Henry  Carey,  poet  and  musician,  was  a  boy  at  Douay  at 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  or  at  the  very  commencement  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  He  is  best  known  as  the  author  of 
"  Sally  in  our  Alley " ;  and  he  has  also  been  credited  by 
some  with  the  authorship  of  "  God  Save  the  King."  {Diet. 
Nat.  Biog.,   ix.    71.) 

Nathaniel  Pigott  was  the  son  and  heir  of  Adam  Pigott,  a 
London  merchant,  and  entered  the  school  at  Douay  about 
1670.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Inner  Temple  in  1682,  and 
was  the  last  Catholic  called  to  the  Bar  in  1688,  before  the 
statute  of  William  and  Mary,  enjoining  oaths  impossible  for 
Catholics  to  take,  shut  them  out  from  pleading  in  the  law 
courts.  Alexander  Pope  entertained  a  great  regard  and  friend- 
ship for  him,  and  when  he  died  wrote  the  following  beautiful 
epitaph  for  him,  which  is  in  Twickenham  parish  church  :  "To 
the  memory  of  Nathaniel  Pigott,  barrister-at-law ;  possessed  of 
the  highest  character  by  his  learning,  judgment,  experience, 
integrity ;  deprived  of  the  highest  stations  only  by  his  con- 
science and  religion.  Many  he  assisted  in  the  law  ;  more  he 
kept  from  it.  A  friend  to  peace,  a  guardian  to  the  poor,  a 
lover  of  his  country.  He  died  July  5,  1737,  aged  76  years." 
In  1 7 1 5  he  professed  himself  quite  ready  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance,  but  was  obdurate  in  refusing  the  oath  of  supremacy, 
or  to  repeat  and  subscribe  the  declaration  against  transubstan- 
tiation.  He  was  a  great  conveyancing  lawyer,  and  a  work  he 
wrote  on  the  subject  is  still  a  standard  authority.  His  six 
sons  were  all  at  St.  Gregory's  —  namely,  Charles,  Ralph, 
Edward,  Nathaniel,  Francis,  and  George.  Ralph's  son, 
Nathaniel,  a  noted  astronomer  in  after-years,  was  also  a 
Gregorian,  and  entered  the  Sodality  while  in  the  school  at 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

Douay  in  1738.  He  had  two  sons,  Edward  and  Charles 
Gregory.  The  former  of  these  was,  Hke  his  father,  a  distin- 
guished astronomer.  The  younger  brother  assumed  the  name 
and  arms  of  Fairfax,  on  coming  into  the  Gilling  Castle  pro- 
perty.. ,  l^t  is  not  quite  certain  whether  either  of  them  ever 
entered  St.  Gregory's,  but  various  circumstances  favour  the  idea 
that  they  were  both  there  between  1770  and  1780.  .  {Diet. 
Nat.  Biog.^  xlv.  283  ;  J.  Orlebar  Payne's  Engl.  Cath.  Non- 
jurors of  1 7 1 5  ;  and  the  same  author's  Records  of  Engl.  Caths.^ 

1715.) 

Giles  HussEY,  the  painter,  was  born  in  17 10  at  Marnhull, 
and  was  educated,  partly  at  St.  Gregory's,  partly  at  St.  Omers. 
Many  of  his  portrait  drawings  are  at  -  Lulworth  Castle,  Dorset- 
shire.    (Gillow,  iii.  507  ;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  xxxviii.  328.) 

Dom  John  Anselm  Mannock  is  best  known  to  Catholics 
through  the  Boor  Man^s  Cateehism,  which  "  alone  stamps  his 
name  with  immortality,"  as  Mr.  Gillow  says.  Few  of  his  works 
found  their  way  into  print,  but  many  fat  volumes  of  MS.  in 
the  archive-room  at  Downside  attest  both  his  industry  and  his 
learning.  His  Christian  Saerifiee  was  edited  through  the 
munificence  of  six  gentlemen,  to  whom  he  acknowledged  his 
indebtedness  in  the  preface.  They  had  all  been  boys  at 
Douay,  either  his  contemporaries  in  the  school  or  his  pupils. 
They  were — Sir  Robert  Throckmorton,  Bart.;  Sir  Charles 
Browne,  Bart.;  Sir  Richard  Moore,  Bart.;  William  Stanford 
of  Salford,  Warwickshire,  Esq.;  Francis  Canning  of  Foxcote, 
Warwickshire,  Esq.;  and  the  last-named  gentleman's  son 
Francis.     (Gillow,  iv.  458  ;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.^  xxxvi.  76.) 

Dom  John  Stourton,  youngest  son  of  William,  nth 
Baron  Stourton,  has  been  mentioned  in  the  body  of  this  his- 
tory. He  was  the  twenty-first  prior  of  St.  Gregory's,  and  in 
that  office  deserved  specially  well  of  his  house,  and  has  been 
enshrined  in  the  memory  of  all  Gregorians  on  account  of  his 

337  Y 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

intrepid  defence  of  the  interests  of  Douay  when  they  were 
threatened. 

Dom  James  Augustine  Moore,  of  the  family  whose  seat 
was  at  Fawley,  in  Berkshire,  passed  from  the  school  into  the 
community,  of  which  he  was  prior  when  he  died  in  1775.  His 
name  will  always  be  associated  with  the  history  of  music  at  St. 
Gregory's,  for  to  him  was  due  the  credit  of  employing  the  Abbe 
Faboulier  to  prepare  the  chant  which  has  ever  since  been 
traditional  in  the  house,  the  portions  best  known  being  those 
used  at  the  Ofifice  of  the  Dead  and  at  Tenebrae. 

Philip  Howard  of  Corby,  born  in  1730,  was  distinguished 
even  at  St.  Gregory's  "  by  his  moral  conduct  and  religious 
piety,  learning,  and  taste."  He  displayed  throughout  life  an 
intense  love  for  scientific  pursuits,  and  was  a  pioneer  in  the 
introduction  of  scientific  farming.  He  is  the  author  of  works 
in  both  French  and  English.     (Gillow,  iii.  440.) 

Dom  Richard  Peter  Walmesley,  alias  Shirburne,  was 
the  elder  brother  of  Bishop  Walmesley.  At  first  in  the  school, 
he  joined  the  community  in  1736,  and  spent  the  whole  of 
his  long  life  at  Douay,  where  he  is  said  to  have  filled  the  post 
of  prefect  of  discipline  for  nearly  fifty  years.  There  is  no 
means  of  verifying  this  statement  with  absolute  certainty ;  but 
at  least  a  very  long  tenure  of  that  responsible  office  gave  him 
the  opportunity  of  creating,  or  rather  of  handing  on,  a  tradition 
which  has  survived  in  its  main  lines  to  the  present  day ;  and 
with  this  tradition  is  linked  the  name  of  Dom  Oswald  Davis, 
for  many  living  Gregorians.  Dom  Peter  Walmesley's  record 
of  quiet  devotion  to  duty  entitles  him  to  a  niche  amongst 
Gregorian  worthies,  by  reason  of  the  potent  influence  for  good 
which  he  unostentatiously  exercised,  and  which  peeps  out  of 
the  Gregorian  correspondence  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Henry  Howard  of  Corby,  born  in  1757,  entered  St. 
Gregory's  school  when  he  was  ten  years  of  age,  and  remained 

338 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

there  till  his  1 6- 17th  year.  After  unavailing  attempts  to 
enter  the  English  army — closed  to  him  on  account  of  his 
religion — he  threw  himself  into  poHtics,  and  was  held  in  such 
estimation  that  he  was  offered  a  seat  in  Parliament ;  but  the 
oath  of  allegiance  required  of  him  before  he  could  take  his 
seat  being  repugnant  to  a  Catholic,  he  was  forced  to  decline 
the  honour.  When  the  penal  laws  were  at  length  relaxed,  he 
received  a  militia  commission,  and  was  even  permitted  to  raise 
a  volunteer  corps,  of  which  he  eventually  became  colonel- 
commandant.  Most  actively  did  he  exert  himself  in  the 
cause  of  Catholic  Emancipation.  Not  only  was  he  a  man 
of  considerable  scientific  attainments,  but  he  was  also  a 
good  soldier  and  an  excellent  man  of  business,  and  as  a 
Catholic  and  a  country  gentleman  bore  a  high  reputation, 
and  was  much  respected.  (Gillow,  iii.  427  ;  Diet,  Nat. 
Biog.,  xxviii.   34.) 

Dom  Archibald  Benedict  MacDonald,  of  the  family  of 
MacDonalds  of  Lochaber,  entered  the  school  at  Douay  with 
his  brother.  Both  of  them  became  monks.  Dom  Benedict, 
though  an  active  missioner,  contrived  to  devote  considerable 
time  and  attention  to  literature,  and  published  some  works 
which  in  their  day  attracted  favourable  notice.  An  ardent 
admirer  of  Ossian,  he  rendered  some  of  his  poems  into 
English  verse.  In  the  preface  to  Some  of  Ossian's  Lesser 
Poems  he  quotes  some  spirited  verses  from  a  mediaeval 
rhymer,  and  proceeds  thus :  "  As  some  may  think  these 
verses  convey  no  bad  representation  of  the  tumult,  hurry, 
and  confusion  of  an  engagement,  I  shall  attempt  a  transla- 
tion."   The  original  and  the  translation  are  here  appended : — 

"  Hie  capit,  hie  rapit ;  hie  teret,  hie  ferit ;  eece  dolores  ! 
Vox  tonat,  aes  sonat ;  hie  ruit,  hie  luit ;  aeta  modo  res  est. 
Hie  secat,  hie  neeat ;  hie  doeet,  hie  noeet ;  iste  fugatur  : 
Hie  latet,  hie  patet ;  hie  premit,  hie  gemit ;  hie  superatur." 
339 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 
These  lines  are  thus  Englished  by  Fr.  MacDonald  : — 

"  Now  hacking  and  thwacking,  now  slashing  and  gashing  they  close  ! 

Swords  batter,  shields  clatter  ;  what  wailing,  what  dealing  of  VjIovvs  ! 
-  This  rushing,  this  pushing  ;  this  bawling,  this  falling  ;  this  slain  : 
.That  hiding  ;  that  chiding  ;  that  dying,  that  flying  amain." 

(Gillow,  iv.  369  ;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  xxxv.  30.) 

Rev.  John  Chetwode  Eustace  entered  St.  Gregory's 
school  about  1772,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Sodality  on 
August  15,  1774.  He  tried  his  vocation  as  a  monk  but 
failed ;  and  later  was  ordained  as  a  secular  priest.  He 
is  noted  as  a  classical  antiquary,  and  his  Tour  through 
Ita/y,  or  Classical  Tour  through  Italy.,  was  a  great  success, 
and  is  sometimes  still  referred  to.  This  is  only  one  of 
many  works  that  proceeded  from  his  facile  and  graceful 
pen,  but  on  its  appearance  it  created  such  a  sensation  that, 
though  the  writer  had  hitherto  been  unknown,  it  brought  him 
into  immediate  prominence,  and  his  acquaintance  was  eagerly 
sought  by  most  persons  distinguished  in  England  by  rank  and 
talents.  To  Gregorians  he  will  ever  be  a  subject  of  interest, 
for  though  passages  in  his  writings  were  tinged  with  so  liberal, 
not  to  say  uncatholic,  a  colouring  as  to  raise  protests,  yet  it 
is  clear  that  he  never  repudiated  his  religion  in  the  slightest 
degree,  and  he  ever  remained  warmly  attached  to  his  Alma 
Mater.     (Gillow,   ii.    182;  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  xviii.  52.) 

Ernest  Engelbert,  Prince  d'Arenberg,  son  of  the 
famous  Comte  de  la  Marck,  entered  the  school  at  Douay 
in  1789.  Following  the  traditions  of  his  illustrious  family, 
he  entered  the  Austrian  service,  and  became  such  a  pro- 
ficient in  at  least  the  theoretical  portion  of  his  adopted 
profession,  as  to  publish  in  1824  L^Art  de  la  Fortifieation. 
He  proposed  to  endow  a  Christian  medical  school,  because 
he  wished  to  see  doctors  trained  as  religious  men ;  and  he 

340 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

begged  Rosmini  to  help  him  in  carrying  out  his  charit- 
able project.  His  plans  and  ideas  were  laid  before  the 
Congregation  of  Bishops  and  Regulars,  but  no  answer  was 
vouchsafed  for  some  years ;  and  then,  before  alternative 
suggestions  could  be  formulated  and  discussed,  the  Prince 
died.  The  D'Arenberg  family  afterwards  consented  that  the 
funds  thus  set  apart  for  a  specific  purpose  should  be  diverted 
towards  founding  an  Orphanage  near  Lille,  whence  many 
vocations  to  the  priesthood  have  emanated.  {Downside  Rev.^ 
xviii.  150,  214.) 

Daniel  French  entered  the  school  at  Douay  in  1776,  and 
died  at  a  good  old  age  in  1846.  He  was  called  to  the  Bar; 
but  his  principal  claim  to  remembrance  was  a  great  facility  for 
turning  English  verse  into  Latin  or  Greek ;  his  controversial 
pamphlets  are  numerous.     {Dozvnside  Rev.^  vi.  139.) 

Charles  Dolman,  the  well-known  Catholic  publisher,  born 
in  1807,  entered  Downside  school  in  181 7,  and  there  he 
completed  his  studies.  He  died  in  1863.  After  severing 
his  connection  with  the  Catholic  periodical  press,  he  de- 
voted his  attention  to  the  publication  of  works  of  a  costly 
character,  many  of  them  richly  illustrated,  and  several  still 
valued  as  specimens  of  typography.  (Gillow,  ii.  87  ;  Diet, 
Nat.  Biog.,  XV.  199.) 

Joseph  Louis  Tasker,  a  talented  and  promising  linguist 
and  traveller,  came  as  a  boy  to  Downside  in  1836.  His 
death  occurred  at  Shiraz  in  Persia,  August  27,  1848,  after  an 
absence  of  five  years  from  England.  Possessed  of  a  wonderful 
memory,  it  is  said  of  him  that  what  he  had  once  seen,  or 
read,  or  heard  he  never  forgot.  His  enterprise  as  an  ex- 
plorer and  his  knowledge  of  the  principal  languages,  ancient 
and  modern  (including  the  power  of  deciphering  the  cunei- 
form inscriptions),  made  his  early  death  the  more  to  be 
regretted.     Some  years  later,  a  collection   of  his  letters  was 

341 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

published,  under  the  title  Travels  in  Eiii'ope  and  the  East, 
{Downside  Rev.,  iv.  216.) 

Richard  More  O'Ferrall,  born  in  1797,  died  in  1880. 
He  entered  St.  Gregory's  when  it  was  at  Acton  Burnell,  about 
the  year  1806,  and  there  he  was  confirmed  on  July  24,  1808. 
From  an  early  age  he  joined  in  the  struggle  in  Ireland  to 
secure  civil  and  religious  liberty.  When  Catholic  disabilities 
had  at  length  been  almost  entirely  abolished,  he  sat  for  many 
years  in  Parliament,  and  also  held  various  offices  under  the 
Melbourne  Administration.  In  1847  he  was  appointed 
Governor  of  Malta,  a  post  he  resigned  in  1851,  in  protest 
against  the  Ecclesiastical  Titles  Bill,  on  the  ground  that  he 
declined  to  serve  under  Lord  John  Russell,  the  Prime 
Minister  who  carried  it.  He  was  made  a  Privy  Councillor 
in  1847;  ^"dj  ^t  his  death,  was  the  oldest  member  of  the 
Irish  Privy  Council.     {Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  xlii.   2.) 

Sir  John  Lambert,  K.C.B.,  P.C,  a  very  distinguished  civil 
servant,  and  one  of  the  drafters  of  important  Parliamentary 
bills,  who,  though  strongly  radical  and  democratic  in  his 
private  opinions,  was  nevertheless  so  loyal  to  the  chiefs  in 
office  that  he  was  highly  esteemed  and  trusted  by  such 
opposite  men  as  Lord  Beaconsfield  and  Mr.  Gladstone.  It 
was  Lord  Beaconsfield  who  w^as  instrumental  in  bestow- 
ing upon  him  the  K.C.B.  His  life  and  life's  work  are 
too  full  of  detail  to  allow  of  even  the  slightest  sketch 
here.  He  was  an  ardent  musician,  and  did  much  for  the 
revival  of  Plain  Song  in  England.  He  entered  Downside 
in  1823,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life  (1892)  was  a  most 
devoted  Gregorian,  and  a  constant  contributor  to  the  pages 
of  the  Downside  Revieiv.  His  article  on  the  "  Days  of 
Auld  Lang  Syne" — school  reminiscences  written  for  that 
periodical — obtained  the  warm  approval  and  praise  of  so  com- 
petent a  literary  critic  as  Mr.  Gladstone,  whose  only  complaint 

342 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

about  it  was  that  it  was  too   short.      (Gillow,  iv.  97;    Diet. 
Nat.  Biog.,  xxxii.  18  ;  Downside  Rev.,  viii.  17  and  xi.  i.) 

James  Vincent  Harting,  F.S.A.,  was  in  the  school  at 
Downside  from  1825  till  1828,  after  which  he  studied  at 
the  London  University.  He  was  an  able  and  distinguished 
solicitor.  He  died  in  1883  at  the  age  of  seventy-one. 
(Gillow,  iii.    157.) 

Dom  James  Norbert  Sweeney  was  St.  Gregory's  thirty- 
eighth  prior,  and  also  first  cathedral  prior  of  Belmont;  and 
some  time  after  he  vacated  that  dignity  was  elected  titular 
Abbot  of  St.  Alban's,  which  position  he  adorned  till  his 
death  in  1883.  He  was  known  far  and  wide  in  the  English- 
speaking  Catholic  world  as  a  preacher,  lecturer,  and  spiritual 
writer.     His  portrait  is  at  Downside. 

Stephen  Joseph  Mackenna  entered  Downside  in  1849. 
After  serving  with  distinction  in  the  army,  wherein  he  rose 
to  the  rank  of  captain,  he  exchanged  the  sword  for  the  pen, 
and  became  a  novelist  of  some  repute,  and  especially  a  writer 
of  pure  literature  for  boys.  He  died  in  1883,  aged  forty- 
four.  He  had  inherited  his  literary  instincts  from  his  father, 
Theodore  Mackenna  (himself  also  a  Gregorian),  who  left 
behind  him  many  published  works.  With  these  may  be 
associated  the  names  of  two  other  Gregorians  who,  in  recent 
times,  have  swelled  the  ranks  of  novelists  and  have  succeeded 
in  securing  an  audience.  They  are  Edmund  Randolph  and 
Malcolm  Laing-Meason.     (Gillow,  iv.  386.) 

Denis  Caulfield  Heron,  Q.C,  LL.D.  (Mr.  Sergeant), 
was,  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1881,  one  of  the  leading 
Counsel  for  the  Crown  in  Irish  State  trials.  He  entered 
Downside  school  in  1834,  and  there  went  through  the 
ordinary  course  of  studies,  and  afterwards  proceeded  to 
Trinity  College,  Dublin.  He  was  the  author  of  some  legal 
works.     {Downside  Rev.,  i.   211.) 

343 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

■Richard  O'Gorman  came  to  Downside  in  1835.  He 
took  a  too  prominent  part  in  the  Irish  Rising  of  1848, 
and  therefore  found  it  necessary  to  emigrate  to  the  United 
States.  There,  in  his  adopted  country,  he  so  prospered  as  a 
lawyer  as  to  obtain  a  judgeship  of  the  Supreme  Court,  which 
he  held  till  his  death. 

Llewellyn  Mostyn  entered  the  school  in  1861,  and 
thence  passed  into  the  office  of  an  old-established  firm  of 
solicitors.  Unknown  to  the  world  at  large,  he  was  neverthe- 
less chiefly  known  to  Gregorians  as  a  very  staunch  supporter 
of  his  old  school,  whose  interests  were  always  near  his  heart 
He  became  the  first  Treasurer  of  the  Gregorian  Society  at 
its  restoration  in  1877,  and  remained  in  that  post  sufficiently 
long  to  see  the  Society  through  all  its  initial  difficulties,  and 
to  secure  its  safe  and  sound  establishment.  So  fully  was  it 
recognised  that  this  happy  result  was  due  to  his  untiring 
efforts  that,  on  his  untimely  death,  which  occurred  at  Down- 
side, where  he  was  taken  ill  while  on  a  visit,  the  Council 
of  the  Society  erected  a  memorial  brass  in  the  Abbey  Church 
to  commemorate  him.     {Dow7tside  Rev..^  vii.  50.) 

Dom  Joseph  Jerome  Vaughan,  the  brother  of  Cardinal 
Vaughan,  Archbishop  Roger  Bede  Vaughan,  and  several 
other  brothers,  all  but  one  Gregorians,  and  himself  belong- 
ing to  Downside  by  education  and  monastic  profession,  is 
best  known  as  the  founder  and  builder  of  the  Abbey  of  Fort 
Augustus,  N.B.      (^Downside  Rev.^  xv.  291.) 

The  Right  Honble.  and  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  William  Joseph 
Lord  Petre's  benefactions  to  St.  Gregory's  have  been  already 
noticed  in  the  body  of  this  history.  He  received  a  mark  of 
the  Church's  recognition  of  his  labours  in  the  interests  of 
secondary  education  by  being  made  a  Domestic  Prelate  to 
His  Holiness,  Leo  XIII.  The  Petre  Library  possesses  a  fair 
portrait  of  Lord  Petre,  but  it  is. merely  an  enlarged  photo- 

344 


GREGORIAN    WORTHIES 

graph.     His  portrait  in  oils  is  surely  one  of  the  wants  which 
should  soon  be  supplied.     {Downside  Rev.^  xii.  89.) 

Right  Rev.  Mgr.  Francis  Weld,  entered  the  school  in 
183 1,  and  on  the  termination  of  his  career  there,  tried  his 
vocation  unsuccessfully.  He  was,  however,  always  a  devoted 
friend  to  St.  Gregory's  ;  and  at  his  death,  which  occurred  on 
September  26,  1898,  gave  practical  proof  of  his  abiding 
interest  in  the  home  of  his  school-days,  by  leaving  a  sub- 
stantial legacy  to  be  devoted  specifically  to  the  completion  of 
the  monastery.  During  his  life  he  generously  gave  the  funds 
needful  for  the  erection  of  the  east  cloister  joining  the  refectory 
block  with  the  church,  with  the  special  objects — first,  of 
securing  greater  privacy  and  quiet  for  the  monks ;  secondly, 
of  providing  the  boys  with  a  shorter  and  more  convenient 
route  from  the  school  to  the  church.  He  also  built  the 
monks'  present  refectory.     {Downside  Rev.^  xvii.   291.) 

While  commemorating  the  dead,  it  behoves  us  not  to  be 
unmindful  of  those  who,  still  happily  living  and  striving 
amongst  us,  are  debarred  from  receiving  the  meed  of  praise 
which  is  justly  their  due. 

First  in  order  of  rank,  as  being  so  closely  connected  with 
Downside  by  every  tie  of  filial  and  fatherly  affection,  comes 
the  Right  Rev.  Abbot  Gasquet,  D.D.,  forty-third  prior  of 
St.  Gregory's,  now  titular  Abbot  of  Reading  and  Abbot- 
President  of  the  English  Benedictines,  widely  known  by 
his  historical  writings. 

The  Right  Rev.  P.  W.  Raynal,  titular  Abbot  of  St. 
Alban's,  is  known  to  every  Gregorian  as  having  had  the 
chief  hand  in  the  monastic  formation  of  the  majority  of 
living  members  of  the  English  Benedictine  congregation. 

Mr.  Wilfrid  Ward,  partly  educated  at  Downside,  is  a 
philosophical  writer  who  has  taken  a  recognised  position  in 

345 


DOWNSIDE   SCHOOL 

the  literary  world ;  with  him  may  be  mentioned  Sir  J.  P. 
FiTZPATRiCK,  whose  book  on  The  Transvaal  from  ivithin 
made  the  true  causes  of  the  late  Boer  war  clear  to  English- 
men, and  received  public  commendation  from  Lord  Rosebery 
and  Mr.  Chamberlain. 

In  diplomacy  St.  Gregory's  is  represented  by  Sir  Henry 
Howard,  K.C.B.,  England's  Minister  at  The  Hague;  while 
Sir  Francis  Fleming,  K.C.M.G.,  takes  rank  as  one  of  Great 
Britain's  proconsuls.  Politics  may  be  said  to  be  worthily 
upheld  by  The  O'Conor  Don,  P.C,  formerly  M.P.,  who 
although  not  at  present  appreciated  at  his  true  worth  in 
Ireland,  is  numbered  amongst  his  Sovereign's  Privy  Coun- 
cillors. On  Mr.  Childers'  death,  he  became  Chairman  of 
the  important  Royal  Commission  on  the  Financial  Relations 
between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  ;  and  at  the  Coronation 
of  King  Edward  VII.,  he  bore  the  Standard  of  Ireland. 
It  may  not  be  inopportune  to  mention  in  this  place,  that 
before  the  obstructive  policy  introduced  by  the  late  Mr. 
Parnell,  there  was  hardly  a  Parliament  during  the  last  cen- 
tury which  did  not  include  amongst  its  members  more  than 
one  Gregorian  sitting  for  some  Irish  constituency.  Names 
that  come  readily  to  hand,  for  example,  are  those  of  The 
O'Conor  Don,  his  brother  Denis  O'Conor,  Hon.  Charles 
French,  Sir  John  Talbot  Power,  The  O'Donoghue,  and  Sir 
Rowland  Blennerhasset. 

The  Right  Honble.  Sir  John  Day  has  now,  it  is  true,  re- 
tired from  the  Bench  ;  but  this  devoted  son  of  Alma  Mater, 
during  his  long  tenure  of  office  as  judge,  was  selected  to  sit 
on  two  of  the  most  difficult  inquiries  of  recent  times  :  the 
Belfast  Riots  Commission,  and  the  Parnell  Commission  ; 
and  has  lately  received  the  honour  of  being  included  in 
his  Majesty's  Privy  Council.  Mr.  George  Paul  Taylor 
has  also   won   early   distinction  as   a   City    Magistrate.     Mr. 

346 


GREGORIAN   WORTHIES 

John  Mulhall  is  an  important  member  of  the  Executive  as 
vice-President  of  the  Irish  Prisons  Board ;  and  Sir  Rowland 
Blennerhasset,  LL.D.,  Principal  of  Queen's  College,  Cork, 
holds  a  foremost  position  in  educational  work  in  Ireland. 
Court  officialdom  has  claimed  the  services  of  the  Earl  of 
Kenmare,  who  held  the  post  of  Lord  Chamberlain  to  Queen 
Victoria.  Science  and  Natural  History  are  ably  represented 
by  Mr.  Edmund  Harting,  F.L.S.,  F.Z.S.  ;  and  Lt.-Col. 
Randolph  Kilkelly,  R.A.M.C.,  has  been  prominently 
before  the  public  on  account  of  his  excellent  work  at  the 
late  seat  of  war  in  South  Africa,  More  than  thirty  Gre- 
gorians  took  their  share  in  the  late  struggle;  and  of  these, 
five  lost  their  lives.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  too,  that  the 
Abbot  of  Downside  was  the  first  to  recognise  that  the  duty 
of  supplementing  the  over-taxed  energies  of  the  secular  clergy 
in  affording  spiritual  succour  to  the  Catholic  troops  in  the 
field  was  one  that  appealed  to  the  patriotism  of  the  regular 
clergy.  He  accordingly  placed  four  monks  from  St.  Gregory's 
at  the  disposal  of  the  War  Office,  and  his  lead  was  followed 
by  others.  The  oldest  living  Gregorian  is  a  distinguished 
soldier  of  a  generation  that  has  passed  away,  Comte  Henri 
EsPiNEVET  DE  LA  ViLLEBOiSNET,  who  entered  Downside  in 
182 1.  He  is  now  residing  in  Paris  in  hale  old  age,  is  a 
General  de  Division,  and  Grande  Croix  de  la  Legion 
d'Honneur.  Art  is  not  unworthily  represented  by  Hector 
Caffieri  ;  and  Sport  has  its  votaries  known 'to  the  public  in 
the  persons  of  the  cricketers  Sir  T.  C,  O'Brien  and  Capt. 
Glennie  Greig  ;  and  Bernard  Turnbull  finds  a  place 
as  a  hockey  "  International." 

The  lives  of  many  of  the  Gregorians  referred  to  in  the 
foregoing  pages  must  bring  home  to  us  in  a  forcible  way  that 
it  was  only  by  dint  of  strenuous  effort  and  much  self-sacrifice 

347 


DOWNSIDE    SCHOOL 

on  their  part  that  we  enjoy  the  inheritance  that  is  ours  to-day. 
The  lessons  this  reflection  teaches  us  are  summed  up  in  two 
words  :  Noblesse  Oblige.  And  since  the  living  generation  of 
Gregorians  owes  so  much  to  the  men  who  have  preceded  them, 
and  forms  but  a  link  in  a  long  chain,  the  right  way  to  shew 
a  true  appreciation  of  the  obligations  which  have  been  be- 
queathed to  us  is  to  deserve  from  those  who  shall  succeed 
an  esteem  like  to  that  which  has  been  won  by  our  fore- 
fathers. 


FINIS. 


348 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX.       , 

PRIORS   OF   ST.   GREGORY'S   MONASTERY,    OR 
HEADMASTERS   OF   THE   SCHOOL. 

{N.B. — Until  1891  the  headmastership  of  St.  Gregory's  School  was 
merged  in  the  priorship  of  the  monastery.  From  1S91  to  1900 
the  head  of  the  school  was  called  "rector,"  since  when  that 
official  has  been  termed  "headmaster."  It  is  doubtful  whether 
the  first  two  on  the  list  ever  had  charge  of  a  school.) 


Venerable  John  Roberts,  or  de  Mervinia 

. 

I 605- I 606 

Nicholas  Becket 

. 

. 

I 607- I 608 

Augustine  Bradshaw,  alias  White 

. 

. 

1608- 1612 

Leander  Jones,  or  de  Sancto  Martino 

1612 

2-1614,  1621- 

1625, 

1629-1633 

Rudesind  Barlow 

1614- 

1620, 

1625- 1629 

Francis  Antrobus 

1 620- 1 62 1 

Joseph  Frere    . 

1633- 

1641, 

1662-1666 

John  Meutisse,  alias  Northall 

. 

1641-1653 

Bernard  Palmes  (of  Naburn)    . 

. 

1653-1657 

Benedict  Stapylton  (of  Carleton) 

. 

1657-1662 

Goderic  Blount  (of  Fawley)     . 

. 

I 666- I 667 

William  Hitchcock  (of  Knitely) 

166 

7-1673,  1675- 

1677, 

1685-1693 

Alexius  Caryll  (of  West  Grinstead) 

. 

1673-1675 

Augustine  Howard  (of  Corby) 

1677-1681 

Jerome  Hesketh  (of  Whitehill) 

1681-1685 

John  Philipson 

. 

1693- 1 701 

Michael  PuUein  (of  Killinghall) 

1701 

■  1705 

1710-1713 

Cuthbert  Tatham 

.    - 

1705-1710 

Sylvester  Metham  (of  Metham) 

. 

1713-1715 

John  Chorley  . 

1715-1717 

John  Stourton  (of  Stourton)     . 

1717-1721 

William  Philips,  alias  Pestell 

1721-1723 

Anthony  Ord  . 

1723-1725 

Lawrence  York 

1725-1729 

Basil  Warwick  (of  Warwickhall) 

I 729- I 732 

Thomas  Nelson 

1732-1737 

Benedict  Steare 

3^ 

t9 

1737-1745 

APPENDIX 


Alexius  Shepherd 

Augustine  Moore  (of  Fawley) 

Gregory  Sharrock 

Jerome  Sharrock 

Peter  Kendal  . 

Augustine  Lawson  (of  Brough) 

Bernard  Barber 

George  Turner 

Joseph  Brown  . 

Peter  Wilson  , 

Norbert  Sweeney 

Cuthbert  Smith 

Alphonsus  Morrall 

Ildephonsus  Brown 

Bernard  Murphy  (held  office  for  a  few  months  in 

Aidan  Gasquet 

Edmund  Ford  (became  prior  again  in  1894  ;  abbot  in 

Clement  Fowler  (created  headmastership  in  1891) 

Wilfrid  New    ..... 

Aidan  Howlett  .... 

Leander  Ramsay  .... 


19CX)) 


1745-1755 
1755-1775 
1775-1780 
1 7 80- 1 808 
1808-1814 
1814-1818 
1818-1830 
1 830- 1 834 
1 834- 1 840 
1 840- 1 8  54 
1854-1859 
1859-1866 
I 866- I 868 
I 868- I 870 
1870- 1878 
1878-1885 
1885- 1888 
I 888- I 894 
1891-1900 
I 900- I 902 
1902- 


350 


INDEX 


Abingdon  Debating  Society,  287 
Abram,  Br.  Ignatius,  on  Downside  in 

1814,  158 
Account  Books  of  old  St,  Gregory's, 

68 
Acton  Burnell :  school  recommenced 
there,  130 
accommodation  for  boys  at,  131 
enlarged  for  Gregorians,  145 
chapel  described,  136 
activity  at,  132 
bat-and-ball  at,  139 
departure  from,  155 
celebration  of  jubilee  of  departure 
from,  225 
Affiliation    to     London     University, 

Charter  of,  216 
Agents,  Gregorian,  in  London,  68,  69 
Albert,  Archduke,  befriends  English 

monks,  26 
Albums,  Gregorian,  of  portraits,  313 
"Alkestis,"  Euripides',  273 
Allen,  Card.,  founds  Douay  Secular 

Coll.,  I 
Altar  at  Downside,  description  of,  186 
Ampleforth :    Laurentians    settle  at, 
129 
scheme  to  unite  Downside  with, 

175 
Journal.^  106 
Anne,  Queen,  and  St.  Gregory's,  52 
Appeal  for  funds  in  1814,  153 
Archgeological  Club,  311 
Architects  of  Downside,  183,  221,  231 
Architecture  of  Downside,  184,  185 
Archives  of  St.  Gregory's,  fate  of,  7 
Armorial  stained  glass  at  Downside, 

186,  233,  234,  247 
Army  chaplains,  347 
Arras,  Abbey  of,  undertakes  repairs 

at  Douay,  31 


Athletic  sports  established,  231,  311 

records,  311 
Athy,  Edm.,  210,  212 

Baines,  Dr.,  sketch  of,  194 

estimate  of,  by  Dr.  Marsh,  195 
becomes  coadjutor,  195 
letter  to  Prior  Lawson,  161 
plans  for  new  school  at  Down- 
side, 161 
desires   to   join    Downside   com- 
munity, 164 
assists  at  opening  of  old  chapel, 

188,  190,  196 
his  dispute  with  Downside,  194 

sqq. 
proposes  to  take  over  St.   Gre- 
gory's, 196 
to    exchange    Ampleforth    with 

Downside,  196 
works  against  Downside  at  Rome, 

197 
breaks  with  Benedictines,  197 
relations  with  Prior  Barber,  198 
interview  with  him  and  Dr.  Brown, 

200 
withdraws  faculties  from  priests 

at  Downside,  202 
end  of  dispute,  204 
founds  Prior  Park,  204 
reconciled  with  Gregorians,  205 
memorial    of    his    dispute    with 

Downside,  205 
re-interred  at  Downside,  205 
"  Bainsbury,"  origin  of  the  name,  205 
Baker,  D.  Augustine,  332 

at  Douay,  14 
Bannester,  D,  William,  315 
Barber,  D.  Maurus,  36 
Barber,  Br.  Joseph,  prisoner  at  Doul- 
lens,  108 


351 


INDEX 


Barber,  D.  Bernard,  account  of,  i8o 

goes  to  Douay,  169 

becomes  prior,  179 

describes  opening  of  old  chapel, 
188 

selected  to  be  a  bishop,  330 
Barker,  Br.  Thomas,  prisoner  at  Doul- 

lens,  108 
Barlow,  D.  Ambrose,  martyr,  322 
Barlow,  D,  Rudesind,  account  of,  332 

remarks  about  the  school  in  1624, 9 
Bat-and-ball,  71,  304 

at  Acton  Burnell,  139 
Beaconsfield,  Lord,  and  Sir  J.  Lam- 
bert, 342 
Bell,  Fr,  Francis,  martyr,  323 
Bellew,  Fr.  Luke,  account  of,  142 
correspondence  of,  142  sqq. 
Benedict,  St.,  14th  centenary  of,  and 

its  memorial,  240 
Bennet,  D.  Bede :  London  agent,  69 

no  bookman,  133 
Benziger,  Bp.  Adelrich,  329 
Bicycle  Club,  311 
Billiards  in  1682  and  1706,  70 
"  Black  Hole  "  of  Doullens,  109 
Blennerhasset,  Sir  Rowland,  346,  347 
Blount  family  and  Alex.  Pope,  31/ 
Bodenham,  Charles,  73,  77,  320 
Bonfire,  Queen's  Jubilee,  244 
Books  in  use  in  school,  78 
Boul^,  Mons.,  sentiments  aljout  return 
of  St.  Gregory's  to  Douay,  145 

instructed  to  repair   Douay  pre- 
mises, 169 
Boxing,  310 
Bradshaw,  D.  Aug.,  account  of,  331 

founds  St.  Gregory's,  3 

founds  St.  Lawrence's,  15 

Vicar-General  of  missioners,  25 

on  the  mission,  25 
Brasswork   in  old   chapel   at   Down- 
side, 187 
Bredall,  Chas.  Edw.,  77 
Brewer,  Dr.,  calls  an   extraordinary 

chapter,  173 
Brown,  D.  Ambrose,  39,  40 
Brown,  Chas.,  of  Kiddington,  320 
Brown,  Dr.  T.  J.,  account  of,  328 

value  of,  to  Downside,  198 

helps  on  backward  boys,  210 

and  the  Downside  Discussion,  212 

becomes  prior,  214 

lays    foundation  -  stone    of    new 
monastery,  234 


Brown,  D.  Ildephonsus,  prior,  231 
Brown,  Wm.  {alias  the  Bull),  and  an 

escapade,  94 
Bruning,  family  of,  19 
Brussels,  profession  of  Gregorians  at, 

100 
Buckley,  D.  Maurus,  40 
Buckley,  D.  Sigebert,  last  survivor  of 

pre-Reformation  monks,  2 
Buildings :  additions  to  in  1625,  9 
as  they  were  in  1769,  54  sqq. 
stopped  by  law,  59 
in  1823,  183 
in  1853,  221 
interruption  of  schemes  of,  173, 

220 
in  1873,  231 

additions  to  in  1883,  239 
Bulbeck,  D.  Anthony,  270,  273 
Burton  (Hants),  St.  Gregory's  almost 

transferred  there,  181 
Butler,  Archbishop  James  (H.),  325 
Butler,  Charles,  319 

Cabinet  of  King's  Court,  88 

Cadet  corps,  136,  310 

Caffieri,  Hector,  347 

Cambridge  University  and  Downside, 

246 
Canterbury,  province  of,  6 
Captains  of  the  School,  list  of,  313 
Carafa,  the  nuncio,  befriends  English 

monks,  26 
Carey,  Henr}',  336 
Carmen  Jubilceum,  35 
Carmen  Panegyricum,  35 
Carpentry,  311  .        ;. 

Carteret,  D.  Joseph,  41 
Cary,  Patrick,  333 
Carylls  of  Ladyholt  and  Alex.  Pope, 

316,  317 
Catholic  Magazine,  109 
Catholic  Miscellany  on  the  opening 
of  the  old  chapel  at  Downside, 
188 
Caverel,  Philip  de,  promises  to  build 
a  house  for  English  monks,  26 
builds  St.  Gregory's  at  Douay,  5 
gives  country  house,  31 
founds  burses,  31 
death  of,  29 

heart  buried  at  Douay,  29 
memorial  tablet  to,  at  Douay,  29 
Centenary  of  settlement  at  Downside, 
24,  228 


352 


INDEX 


Chandler,  Br.  Paul,  39 

Chapel  at  Acton  Burnell,  136  sqq. 

at  Downside  in  i8i8j  178 

account  of,  187 

account  of  opening  of,  188 
Charlton,  Mr.,  expenses  incurred  over 

his  leaving  school,  83 
Charterhouse  School  compared  with 

St.  Gregory's,  42 
Chelles  founded,  3 
Chorley,  D.  Edw.,  36,  39,  40 
Christinas  at  Douay,  87  sqq, 
Christmas  Kings,  90 
Christmas  Kings'  Court  customs,  90 
Church,  opening   of   portion   of,    at 

Downside  in  1882,  239 
Circular,  begging,  of  1817,  176 
Clarke,  Dom  C,  273 

and  music,  277 
Class  names,  old,  abolished,  243 
Clifford,  Bp.,  and  Downside,  226 

lays   foundation-stone  of  tower, 

234 

speech  about  the  new  church,  240 
Cloister,  East,  built  in  1897,  247 
Cloister,  Monastery,  donation  of,  233 
"Club  Day,"  298 
Clubs:  Archaeological,  311 

Bicycle,  311 

Cricket,  231,  303 

Harriers',  312 

Natural  History,  311 
Cluniac    system    of    dependence    of 

houses,  5 
Collections  towards  building  in  1769, 

56 
CoUingridge,  Bp.,  and  St.  Gregory  s, 

150 
opens  old  chapel  at   Downside, 

188 
Colonnade  or  piazza  at  Douay,  60 
Concerts,  277 

Congregation,  English,  of  St.  Bene- 
dict, 3 
revived,  5 
Coombes,  Dr.,  preaches  at  opening 

of  old  chapel  at  Downside,  189 
his  testimony  to  the  work  there, 

218 
Council  book,  36  sqq. 
Coupe,  Abraham  Maurus,  and  Thos. 

Jerome,  18 
Court  of  St.  Gregory's,  88  sqq.^  256 
Cowper,    Wm.,   and    Throckmorton 

family,  317 


Cox,  D.  Bede,  and  music,  277 
Cressy,  D.  Serenus,  333 

Life  of  Fr.  Baker,  14 
Cricket,  early,  at  Douay,  72 

Club  founded  at  Downside,  231, 
300,  303 
Crowther     {alias      Broughton),      D. 
Anselm,  333 

Dancastles  and  Alex.   Pope,  315, 

316 
Dancing,  79 
Dangers  of  going  to  school  in  17th 

cent.,  10 
D'Arenberg,  Prince  Auguste,  99 
D'Arenberg,  Prince  Ernest  Engelbert, 

99.  340 
Davis,  Bp.  Charles,  273,  329 
Davis,  D.  Oswald,  prefect,  217,  338 
Davis,  Professor  J.  P.,  238 
Day,  Sir  John,  213,  346 
"  Day"  Greek  Prize,  292 
Debating  societies,  286 
Dependence  of  houses,  Cluniac  sys- 
tem of,  5 
Derbaix,  Mons.,  murder  of,  and  dan- 
ger of  his  son,  104 
Dietary  in  1720,  47 

in  1823,  211 

of  school,  239 
Dieulouard  (St.  Lawrence's),  founda- 
tion of,  3 
Dining  Hall  at  Downside,  description 

of,  234 
Dinners,  Gregorian,  289,  292 
Dolman,  Chas.,  341 
Donahue,  Bp.  P.,  329 
Douay:  sieges  of,  51 

permission  to  leave  obtained,  121 

disposal  of  property  there,  172 

attitude  of  citizens  towards   St. 
Gregory's,  143,  144 

condition  of  buildings  at,  144 

left,  122 

becomes  factory,  169 

restoration  of,  165 

return  to,  contemplated,  166 

arranged  for,  168 

objected  to,  169,  170 

objections  overruled,  170 

return  to,  abandoned,  171 

customs  in  church,  138 
DouUens  :  Gregorians  sent  to,  108 

horarium  at,  no 

mass  in  prison  at,  113 


353 


7. 


INDEX 


Doullens  :  treatment  at,  109 

escape  of  prisoners  from,  114,  115 
petition  for  relaxation  of  rigours 

at,  115 
departure  from,  118 

Downside :  Abbey,  248 
altar,  186 
"  Discussion,"  212 
protestant   thanksgiving    chapel, 

214 

"  Magazine,"  284 

"  Miscellany,"  284 

organ,  185 

"  Review,"  283,  286 

stained  glass,  186,  233,  234,  247 

property  purchased,  151 

cost  of,  152 

arrival  at,  156 

old  manor  house,  157 

accommodation  at,  in  1814,  153 

chapel  in  i8i8,  178 

chapel,  account  of,  187 

leave  to  build  at,  granted,  181 

foundation-stone  laid  in  1820,  184 

chapel  brass-work,  187 

chapel,  account  of  opening.  188 

half  jubilee  of,  214,  225 

fifty  years'  development,  228 
Drawing,  80 
Dress,  46,  84,  192 
Drilling,  310 

Dublin  Review  and  Downside,  219 
Dunn,  Archibald,  architect,  231 
Durrant,    Geo.,    gives   statue   of    St. 
Gregory,  223 

Edmund's,  St.,  Paris,  founded,  3 
numbers  at,  in  1700,  33 
resuscitated  at  Douay,  172 

Eldridge,  Br.  J.,  108,  134,  137 

Election  riots,  242 

Ellis,  Bp.  Philip.  327 

Emancipation,  Gregorians  and,  320 

Englefield,  Edw.  and  Thos.,  20 

Englefield  of  Whiteknights,  316 

Errington,  Jos.,  14 

Errington,  William  (escapade),  94 

EscapeofGregorians  at  Revolution,  103 

Esmonde,  Mrs.  EUice,  81 

Esmonde,  Sir  Thos.,  320 

Esquerchin,  gift  of,  31,  74 

becomes  prison  of  Gregorians,  106 
attempted  escape  from,  107 

Eustace,  Rev.  J.  Chetwode,  146,  149, 
340 


Examinations,  46,  238    . 
Exhibition  in  1829,  211 
Eyston,  Geo.,  320 

Farces,  comedies,  and  minor  plays, 

274 
Farm-buildings,  Downside,  220 
Farnworth,  D.  Cuthbert,  36 
Feast,  Kings',  89,  259,  263 
Feinaigle,  and  his  system  of  teaching, 

164 
Fencing,  80 
Fenwick,  Sir  Wm.,  22 
Fermour  family  and  Alex.  Pope,  317 
Ferris,  Rev,  Mr.,  and  Douay  property, 

165 
Finances  of  St.  Gregory's,  precarious, 

37 

Fire-brigade,  Downside,  296 

Fires  at  Downside,  212,  296 

"  First  Thursday,"  252 

Fishing  at  Douay,  73 

Fitzherbert,  Robt.,  and  fishing,  73 

Fitzpatrick,  Sir  J.  P.,  346 

Fitzwilliams,  Br.  Geo.,  36,  39 

Flanders,   towns   in,   desirous   of  re- 
ceiving St.  (Gregory's,  loi 

Fleming,  Sir  F.,  346 

Football,  305 
at  Douay,  73 
Mr.  Pips  on,  306,  308 

Ford,  D.  Edmd.,  242,  245,  246 

Fortifications  of  Douay,  plans  of,  70 

Foundation-stones,  laying  of,  57,  58, 
184,  220,  234 

Fowler,  D.  Clement,  245,  246,  273 

Frankland,  D.  Hugh,  39 

French,  Hon.  Chas.,  346 

French,  Daniel,  341 

Frere,  D.  Joseph,  35 

Fursdon,  D.  Cuthl)ert,  334 

Games,  300 

minor,  309 
Gascoigne,  Fras,  14 

defensions  in  philosophy,  75 
Gascoigne,  Sir  Thos.,  and  fishing,  73 

and  bees,  74 
Gasquet,  Abbot,  345 

Introduction    to    Monks    of   the 
West,  4 

prior,  237,  241 

Sketch  of  the  Life  and  Missioti  of 
St.  Benedict,  240 
George  HI.  and  French  refugees,  12^ 


3M 


INDEX 


Gervaise,  D.  George,  322 
Gladstone,  Mr.,  and  Sir  J.  Lambert, 

342 
Goodrich,    Mr.    H.    E.,   architect   of 

Downside,  183 
Gown,  college,  at  Downside,  193 
Grace,  "  W.  G.,"  and  Dr.  G.  F.,  304 
Greaves,  Br.  Bernard,  36 
"Grecians,"  list  of,  292 
Greek  prize,  "  Day,"  292 
Green,  D.  Thomas,  12 
Greenwood,  D.  Gregory,  36,  167,  335 
Greenwood,  D.  Paulinus,  13 
Gregorian  medal,  290 

Medallists,  291 
Gregorian  Society,  288 
Gregorians  and  emancipation,  320 

imprisoned  in  Doullens,  iii 

released,  118 

embark  for  England,  122 

and     Laurentians     together     at 
Acton  Burnell,  128 
Gregory  XVI.  and  Downside,  199 

makes  Dr.  Brown  a  bishop,  214 
Gregory's,  St.,  library,  119,  120 

organ  at,  167 

music  at,  79,  133,  276 

Queen  Anne  and,  52 

Duke  of  Marlborough  and,  52 

besieged,  51 

Court,  laws  of,  258 

supplies  master  to  Gateau  Cam- 
bresis,  39 

in  1720,  46 

in  1736,  49 

in  1769,  57 

compared  with  London  Charter- 
house School,  42 

and  St.  Vedast's  under  one  roof, 
28 

confirmed  by  Papal  decree,  16 

starting-point  of  school  lost,  7 

archives,  fate  of,  7 

primarily  a  lay-school,  17 

entertains  Cardinal  Howard,  35 

privileges  challenged,  47 

boys  transferred  to  Dieulouard, 
64 

collapse  of  school,  61,  65 

admits  French  boys,  66 

list  of  inmates  in  1793,  103 

republicans     make     domiciliary 
visit,  105 

invited  to  settle  in  many  towns, 

lOI 


Gregory's,  St. :  escape  of  boys  at  Rev- 
olution, 103 

search  for  treasure  at,  114 

return  of  members  to,  from 
Doullens,  119 

condition  of  buildings  at,  144 

finances  precarious,  37 

common  house  for  studies,  37 

numbers  at,  33 

at  Acton  Burnell,  129 

scheme  to  unite  with  Ampleforth, 

175 
building  limited  in  1814,  166 
chapel  in  1818,  178 
almost  leaves  Downside,  181 
leave  to  build  granted,  181 
foundation-stone  of  1820,  184 
Dr.  Baines'  plans  for  school,  161 
centenary  of  settlement  at  Down- 
side, 24,  228i 

Greig,  Capt.  Glennie,  304,  347 

Gualterio,  Cardinal,  45 

Gymnastics,  310 

Haberdashery  and  hosiery,  85 

Hadleys,  Edw.,  John,  Joseph,  17 

Haggerston,  D.  Placid,  40 

Hairdressing,  86 

Handball,  60,  71,  309 

Hanmer  (or  Starkey),  James,  Joseph, 

18 
Hansom,  Chas.,  221 
Hansom,  Edward,  231 
Harriers'  club,  312 

Harrison,  D.  Aug.,  visits  Douay,  17b 
Harting,  Edmund,  347 

and  the  museum,  281 
Harting,  J.  V.,  343 

on  proposed  buildings,  220 
Headmasters,  list  of,  349 
Headmastership  created,  245 
Helme,  D.  Gregory,  17 
Hemsworth,  D.  Benedict,  36 
Heron,  Denis  Caulfield,  343 
Hesketh  (or  Hanson),  D.  Ildephonsus, 

323 

Hesketh,  D.  Joseph,  36 

Hesketh,  D.  Jerome,  protests  against 
injustice,  37 

Hesketh,  D.  Gregory,  17 

' '  Hi-Cockalorum  ! "  73 

Higginson,  James,  John,  19 

Hippisley,  Sir  John  Cox,  and  Down- 
side, 182 

History,  Natural,  Club,  311 


3S5 


INDEX 


Hitchcock,    D.    William,    adroitness    i 

of,  51 
Hodgson,  Fr.,  and  Gregorians,  109, 

III 
Holford,  Peter,  125  ' 

Horarium  in  1720,  48 

about  1823,  210  I 

Hornyholes,  309 

Hosiery  and  haberdashery,  85  1 

Howard,  Cardinal,  at  St.  Gregory's,    I 

35  j 

Howard,  D,  Aug.,  75,  265  ! 

Howard,  Sir  Henry,  346  j 

Howard,  Henry,  of  Corby,  72,  338 
Howard,  Philip,  of  Corby,  338 
Howard,  D.  Placid,  41 

London  agent,  69 
Hudlestone,    D.   John,  and   Charles    , 

II.,  334 
Hussey,  Giles,  337 

Hussey,  John    (of   MarnhuU),   esca- 
pade, 94 
Hutton,  D.  Cuthbert,  18,  36 
Hutton,  Frank,  and  fishing,  73 
Hutton  (or  Salvin),  family  of,  18 


Inventories,  10,  32, 
"I  spy,"  307,  310 


33 


James  H.  and  English  Benedictines, 

52, 

"Jaunts,  '  or  journeys,  93 

"  Jeu  de  paume,"  60,  71 

"John  Inglesant "  and  D.  Cressy,  333 

"Johns,"  256 

Johnson,  Dr.,  and  English  Benedic- 
tines, 84 

Jones  (alias  Scudamore),  D.  Leander 
de  Sto.  Martino,  331 

Journalism  at  Downside,  283 

Journeys  ;  to  Shepton  Mallet,  261 

Jubilee  of  Queen  Victoria,  244 

Jubilees  of  Downside,  214,  224 

Jumping  walks,  312 

Kaye,  Chas.  and  John,  131 
Kendal,    D.    Nicholas,    and    Queen 
Victoria's  coronation,  214 

began  museum,  279 
Kendal,  D.  Richard,  77 

letter  of,  126 

purchases  Downside,  151 

death  of,  155 
Kengelbacher,  D.  Bruno,  240 
Kenmare,  Earl  of,  347 


Kennedy,  D.  Joseph,  40 
Kilkelly,  Lt.-Col.  Randolph,  347 
Kings,  of  Christmastide,  90 

Feast,  89,  263 

Card,  282 

list  of,  264 
Knight,  D.  Bede,  40 
Knowles,  D.  Gilbert,  36,  39 

Lacon,  "R.,"  Ric,  Rowland,  18 
Laing-Meason,  Malcolm,  343 
Laity's  Directory,  131 
Lambert,  Sir  John,  342 

reminiscences,  192,  206,  211 
Lambspring  founded,  3 

numbers  at,  in  1700,  33 
Langley,  Gilbert :  his  school  recollec- 
tions, 41,  75,  82,  94 
Latin  plays,  40 
Lawrence's,  St.,  founded,  3,  15 

numbers  at,  in  1700,  33 

and  the  Revolution,  128 

helped  by  Sir  E.  Smythe,  128 

and  by  St.  Gregory's,  146 
Lawson,  family  of,  21,  22 
Lawson,  D.  Aug.,  prior,  155 

dislikes  Downside,  159 

wishes  to  return  to  Douay,  159, 
160 

gets  back  Douay,  166 

visits  Douay,  169,  170 

views  on  Feinaigle's  system,  164 
Leander,  D.  de  Sto.  Martino,  on  the 

school,  10,  331 
Leo  XHL  and  Downside,  248 
Leveaux,  Dom,  155,  156 
Libellus  Precuni,  212 
Liber  Graduum,  13 
Library  of  St.  Gregory's,  size  of,  119 

fate  of,  120 

Petre,  281 

Junior  (2),  287 

Sodality,  287 

Subscription,  287 
Literary  Magazine,  285 
"  Longleat,"  294 
Lord,  Simeon,  108 

Lorymer,  D.  Michael,  London  agent, 
69,  132 

prisoner  at  Doullens,  108 
Ludlow,  suggested  site  for  St.  Gre- 
gory's, 146 


Mabbs,  D.  Laurence,  324 
MacDonald,  D.  Benedict,  339 


356 


INDEX 


Mackenna,  Stephen,  Theodore,  343 

Magnus,  Professor,  examines  Down- 
side, 238 

"Manners  and  customs,"  261,  299, 
306,  307 

Manning,  Cardinal,   and   Downside, 

234 
Mannock,  D.  Anselm,  39,  337 
Marbles  at  St.  Gregory's,  72 
Marcel,  Abb^,  and  St.  Gregory's,  49 
Marchienne  College  and  St.  Gregory's, 

7 

Marck,  Ernest  de  la,  100 

Marlborough,  Duke  of,  and  St.  Gre- 
gory's, 52 

"Marriage  Feasts,"  293,  294 

Marsh,  Dr.,  and  Downside,  181 
estimate  of  Dr.  Baines,  195 

Martene,  Dom,  at  St.  Gregory's,  33 

Mass  in  prison  of  Doullens,  113 

Mazzinghi,  Count,  189,  193 

Medal,  Gregorian,  290 

Medallists,  Gregorian,  291 

Megalesia  Sacra,  35 

Merville,  Mons.,  Douay  architect,  57 

Methods,  of  teaching,  English  and 
Continental,  42,  43 

Meynell,  Geo.,  Roger,  21 

"Microcosm,"  the,  211,  284 

Middleton  (of  Stockeld),  family  of, 
22,  23 

"  Mile  Road,"  the,  311 

Minor  games,  309 

Mivart,  Dr.  St.  George,  and  the 
museum,  280 

Moore,  D.  Aug.,  prior,  53,  60,  338 

Moore,  Wm.  (of  Fawley),  35 

Morrall,  D.  Aiph.,  priorship  of,  230 

Morris,  Bp.,  159,  169,  174,  180,  328 

Mostyn,  Llewellyn,  344 

Mulhall,  John,  347 

Murphy,  D.  Bernard,  prior,  231,  245 

Museum,  278 

Music,  79,  133,  276 

"  Natives,"  255 
Natural  History  Club,  311 
Nelson,  D.  Thos.,  39 
"  North-west  Passage,"  231 
Numbers,  school,  9,  32,  33,  63,  135, 
207 

O'Brien,  Sir  T.  C,  304,  347 
Observatory,  229,  279,  297 
O'Conor  Don,  1  he,  346 


O'Conor,  Denis,  346 

O'Donoghue,  The,  346 

O'Ferrall,  Ric.  More,  342 

"Officers'  Feast,"  259 

Officials,  school,  in  17th  cent.,  36  sqq. 

O'Gorman,  Ric,  344 

Oliver,  Dr.  Geo.,  215 

Organ,  167,  185 

Owen,  Lewis,  8 

Paien,  D.  Nich.,  gets  master  from 

St.  Gregory's,  39 
"  Palace,"  223 
Parker,  D.  Henry,  143 
Paul,  C.  Kegan,  and  Dow fi side  Dis- 
cussion, 213 
Pensions,  school,  36,  46,  132,  135 
Petition  for  relaxation  of  rigour,  Gre- 

gorians',  115 
Petre  Library,  281 
Petre,  Mgr.  Lord,  235,  344 
Philipson,  D.  John,  prior,  37 
"  Philosophers,"  243 
Philosophy,  study  of,  at  Douay,  76 
Photography,  school,  313 
Piazza,  or  colonnade,  60 
Pickering,  Br.  Thos.,  martyr,  324 
Pigott,  Nathaniel,  and  family,  336 
Pigott,  Geo.,  escapade  of,  94 
Pips'  diary,  Mr.,  261,  299,  306,  307 
Playroom,  "  old,"  224 
Plays,  list  of,  273 

Latin,  40 

teachers  of,  273 

incidents  connected  with,  270 
Plumpton,  John,  Robert,  23 
Pocket-money,  89,  90 
Polding,  Archbp.,  169,  198,  212,  273, 

326 
"  Poor  Man's  Catechism,"  39,  337 
Pope,  Alexander,  315  ; 

and  the  Dancastles,  316 

and   the    Bloiints,    Carylls,    Fer- 
mours,  317 

and  Nath.  Pigott,  336 
Powel  (Morgan  or  Prosser),  D.  Philip, 

martyr,  324 
Power,  Sir  John  Talbot,  346 
Prefect's  Feast,  254 
Prior  Park,  founded,  204 

cricket  matches  against,  302-4 
Priors,  list  of,  349 
Provinces,  ecclesiastical,  6, 

abohshed,  7 

Provincial,  title  of,  6 


357 


INDEX 


•Prospectus,  in  1799,  131 

in  1818,  207 

of  examination  in  1829,  211 
Pugin,  Augustus  Welby,  and  Down- 
side, 185,  218 
Pullein,  D.  Micliael,  39,  40 

Kackett,  Henry  and  Jolin,  315 

escapade,  94 
Radcliffe,  D.  Ralph,  106,  107 
Randolph,  Edmund,  ^^43 
"  Rape  of  the  Lock,"  317 
"  Raven,"  the,  283,  285 
Raynal,  Aljbot,  239,  345 
Records,  athletic,  311 
Recreation  days,  251 
"  Rector"  of  the  college,  Douay,  12 

of  Downside,  245 
Reeves,  D.  Wilfrid,  35,  36,  335 
Refectory,  or  Dining   Hall,  in   1622, 

10 
Returns,  parliamentary,  about  houses 

abroad,  33 
Return  to  France  contemplated,  139 
"  Review,"  Downside,  283,  286 
Revolution,    French,   escape  of  boys 

during,  103 
Rich,  D.  Francis,  39 
Riddell,  Bp.  Arthur,  239,  329 
Riddell,    D.  Gregory,   recommended 

as  bishop,  45 
Riddell,  Thos.,  on  xhe ^atid  tour,  84 
Rifle-shooting,  310 
Rintelin  founded,  3 
Road  books,  158 
Roberts,  or  de  Mervinia,  Ven.  John, 

3,  25,  322 
Rounders,  309 
Ruinart,  Jean,  112 
"  Running  Register"  on  St.  Gregory's, 

8 

Salvin  (or  Hutton),  family  of,  18,  21, 

36 
Schoolbovs,  arrival  and  departure  of, 

80' 
Scot,  D.  Maurus,  martyr,  322 
Scott,  D.  Dunstan,  London  agent,  69 
Selby,  family  of,  21 
Sharrock,  D.  Greg,  prior,  60 

bishop,  64,  328 
Sharrock,  D.  Jerome,  prior,  64 

wishes  to  resign,  66 

summoned  before  the  Directory, 


bhnrrock,  D.  Jerome,  protects  Douay, 
107 
sent  to  Doullens,  108 
petitions  fqr  relaxation  of  rigours, 

115 

writes  to  Lady  Smythe,  128 

goes  to  Acton  Burnell,  129 

views  on  future  prospects,  129 

on  return  to  France,  140 

helps  Laurentians,  146 

selected  to  be  bishop,  but  refuses, 
330 
Sickness,  records,  of,  96-98 
Singing,  79,  277 
"  Sir  John's,"  311 
Skating  at  Douay,  73 

at  Downside,  310 
Skelton,  D.  Gregory,  36 
Smith,  D.  Cuthbert,  prior,  230 
Smith,  F'rancis,  125 
Smythe,  Sir  Edward,  jy 

and  marbles,  73 

details  about,  124 

offers  hospitality  to  Gregorians, 

helps  St.  Lawrence's,  128 

conditions  thereof,  129 

receives  militia  commission,  136 

and  Douay  customs,  138 

enlarges  Acton  Burnell  for  Greg- 
orians, 145 

death  of,  150 
Snow,  Abbot,  on  the  Observatory,  228 

on  "  tucks,"  293 
Sod  fights,  312 
Sodahty  of  Our  Lady,  265 

founded,  17 

refounded,  212 

qualifications  for  admission,  267 

Book,  17 

Library,  287 
Sodality  of  St.  Benedict,  268 
.Soldiers,  British,  maintenance  of,  at 

Douay,  34 
Southcote,  D.  Thos.,  36,  45 
St.  Malo  convent  founded,  3 
"Stag-warning,"  310 
Stage  at  St.  Gregory's,  70;  268 
Stained-glass  armorial,  186,  233,  234, 

247 
Stapylton,  D.  Benedict,  334- 
Stapylton,  Dr.  (ireg.,  121 
Stapylton,  Sir  Robert,  333 
Starkev  (Hanmer),  J  as.  and  Joseph, 
18 


358 


INDEX 


Stear,  D.  Benedict,  41 

Steevens,  Jolin,  335 

Stourton,  D.  John,  36,  39,  45,  337 

Stourton,  Dowager  Lady,  and  Douay, 

58 
Stourton,  Lord,  320 
Stratton-on-the-Fosse  village  church, 

152 
Studies  at  Douay,  74 
Study  room,  223 
Sumner,  D.  Chas.,  36 
Sweeney,  D.  Norbert,  217,  230,  343 
Swimming-bath,  277 
Swinburne,  Wm.,  20 

Taaffe,  Henry,  77 
Tasker,  Joseph  Louis,  341 
Taunton,  Dr.,  on  Downside  dietary, 

211 
Taylor,  D.  Edmund,  36,  40 
Taylor,  George  Paul,  346 
Tennis,  71,  305 
Terry,  R.  R.,  273,  277 
Theatricals,  268 
Thornton,  family  of,  20,  21 
Throckmorton  and  Wm.  Cowper,  317 

family  of,  318,  319 
Thuribles  for  Acton  Burnell,  138 
Tichborne,  Henry,  and  early  cricket, 

72 
Tottenham,  Rev.  Edw.,  213 
Tour,  grand:  instance  of,  84 
Tour  through  Italy,  149 
Transvaal  from  Within,  346 
Treaty  of  Navigation  and  Commerce, 

lOI 

"Tucks,"  292 
TurnbuU,  Bernard,  347 

Ullathorne,    Archbp.,    204,    208, 

326 
Universities,  old,  and  Downside^  246 


University    of     London,     Downside 
affiliated  to,  215 

Vaast's,  St.,  of  Arras,  and  buildings 

at  Douay,  55  sqq. 
Vaughan,  Cardinal,  249,  325 
Vaughan,  D.  Jerome,  344 
Vaughan,  Archbp.  R.  B.,  327 
Victoria,  Queen  :  accession,  214 

jubilee,  244 
Vigor,  St.,  152 

Villeboisnet,  Comte  Henri  de  la,  ^47 
'  Vir,    255 
"Voyage  Littdraire,"  33 

Walmesley,  Bp.  Chas.,  328 
Walmesley,  D., Peter,  333 
Ward,  Wilfrid,  345 
Warwick,  D.  Basil,  36,  39 
"Wash-house,"  old,  224 
Watmough,  D.  Francis,  recommend- 
ed for  a  bishopric,  45 
Webb,  D.  Dunstan,  and  Joseph,  19 
"  Wednesday  Mail,"  284 
Weld,  Mgr.  Francis,  247,  345 
Whitby,  D.  Bernard,  39 
"Wild  Flowers,"  285 
Wilford,  D.  Boniface,  324 
Wilson,  D.  Joseph  Peter,  157 

prior,  215 

Downside  under,  217 

selected  to  be  a  bishop,  but  re- 
fuses, 330 
Witham,  Roger  and  William,  23 
Woburn  Park  School,  237 
Wright  (of  Kelvedon),  John,  125 
Wyburne,  Henry  and  John,  19 
Wyche,  D.  Joseph,  40 
Wythie.  D.  Bernard,  40 

York  province,  6 

York,  Bp.  Lawrence,  39,  40,  327 


THE    END. 


Printed  by  Ballantyne,  Hanson  &"  Co. 
Edinburgh  <5r^  London 


